Caitlyn Jenner wants to be Ted Cruz's 'trans ambassador'
As a Republican transgender woman, Caitlyn Jenner has been criticized for her political views. The GOP, after all, does not embrace the cause of transgender acceptance, instead writing and passing legislation that advocates say target transgender people.
In a new interview with the Advocate, Jenner acknowledges that "Democrats are better" on social issues, but stands by her party, declaring herself a fan of presidential candidate Ted Cruz — with a caveat.
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“I like Ted Cruz,” she said. “I think he’s very conservative, and a great constitutionalist, and a very articulate man. I haven’t endorsed him or anything like that. But I also think, he’s an evangelical Christian, and probably one of the worst ones when it comes to trans issues."
Then Jenner imagined the possibility of becoming an advisor to Cruz should he win the presidential election.
“Wouldn’t it be great, let’s say he goes on to be president, and I have all my girls on a trans issues board to advise him on making decisions when it comes to trans issues," she told the Advocate. "Isn’t that a good idea?”
“You’re going to be Ted Cruz’s trans ambassador?” asks the interviewer.
“Yes, trans ambassador to the president of the United States, so we can say, ‘Ted, love what you’re doing but here’s what’s going on.'”
That scenario is an optimistic one. In early January, Sen. Cruz told a campaign-stop crowd that he opposed the Department of Education's efforts to ensure that transgender students receive bathroom and locker room accommodations.
He characterized one case as the government insisting that a "teenage boy shower with the teenage girls. That's just nuts ... My five-year-old daughter Catherine, she knows the difference between boys and girls."
Jenner, who met Cruz prior to her transition in 2015, recently opposed a bill passed by Republicans in the South Dakota legislature that would have forced trans students to use bathrooms based on their sex at birth.
Yet, she told the Advocate that she supports the Republican Party and fiscal conservatism.
“Number one, if we don’t have a country, we don’t have trans issues. We need jobs. We need a vibrant economy," she said. "I want every trans person to have a job.”
No doubt she'll soon hear from members of the trans community that supporting Cruz is not the most obvious path to that goal.
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Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
