Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut -- who very well may harbor presidential ambitions -- gave an interview to New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, in which he doubled down on biological males competing against females in athletics. This is a deeply unpopular position outside of the left-wing activist circles in which Murphy runs. The country is dead set against this obvious unfairness, but the beating heart of the Democrats' base views it as a "progressive" culture war litmus test. While some prominent Democrats with an eye on the White House are cynically and belatedly running away from their party's extremist position, Murphy and others continue to raise the radical torch. We'll remind you of just how far out of step with public opinion this view is below, but first, here's what Murphy told Douthat when pressed on the issue.
Every line of this is noteworthy and revealing:
🚨NEW: Dem Sen. Chris Murphy stammers as he gets GRILLED by NYT Opinion Columnist Ross Douthat over his stance on biological males in female sports🚨
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) May 10, 2025
MURPHY: "I don’t have any fear of transgender athletes participating in sports."
DOUTHAT: "Wait ... If you had a daughter… pic.twitter.com/2y5B4hNDZe
MURPHY: "I don’t have any fear of transgender athletes participating in sports."
DOUTHAT: "Wait ... If you had a daughter competing against a biological male, would you find it unfair?"
MURPHY: "I don’t have girls."
DOUTHAT: "Have some empathy for those of us who do. So would you find it unfair?"
MURPHY: "I’ve talked to lots of parents of girls in Connecticut who do not think it’s unfair ... I think everybody can come to their own conclusion."
DOUTHAT: "But your conclusion is ... the official line of liberalism right now."
MURPHY: "Yes, my conclusion is that I would support those athletes being able to participate in my community."
I've bolded the key bits. He tries to frame his position as beating back some irrtional "fear" of trans people, which is right in line with the widely-rejected by loudly-insisted-upon claim that opposing men in women's sports is "transphobic." Douthat rightly reframes the question away from the demagogic "fear" spin, and toward the fundamental issue of fairness. Douthat tries to personalize the issue by asking if Murphy would think it was fair for his own daughter to compete against a male in sports, a challenge Murphy clumsily avoids by stating that he doesn't have a daughter (he and his wife, from whom he recently separated, have sons). But that's not the point, is it, Senator? Perhaps part of the reason Murphy can congratulate himself for not "fearing" males involved in female athletic competition is that neither he nor his children would ever bear the brunt of such unfairness.
Murphy quickly pivots to a "many people are saying" argument, citing unspecified Connecticut parents who aren't bothered by, or don't acknowledge, the unfairness. Surely such people exist, especially committed leftist ideologues. But how many of those parents have daughters playing sports? How many of people with skin in the game would look at, say, this story and be entirely comfortable with it?
Imagine being the fastest girl in Connecticut but still ‘losing’ four state championships. Tell me again how it's “only 10 athletes” and not worth worrying about. Oh yeah, this is high school sports. What about the trans athletes outside of NCAA sports?
— Irene BritUSA (@irenebritusa) March 4, 2025
“It robs girls of the… pic.twitter.com/KaBSrGgEJG
The "Connecticut Trans Runners" (Yearwood and Miller) was one of the first widely known cases of males competing as females.
— boysvswomen.com (@boysvswomen) October 2, 2023
The New Yorker reports the two runners had not undergone medical transition while setting records at statewide track meets.https://t.co/byXbcosdn4 pic.twitter.com/HYuakjmngK
This famous case is in Murphy's own state. He knows about it, surely. And yet, he responds that "yes," his position is that this is fine. A recent NBC poll mirrored a separate New York Times survey in showing an overwhelming majority of Americans opposing biological males and trans females competing against women and girls in athletics:
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According to a recent New York Times/Ipsos poll, Americans oppose allowing trans athletes to compete in women's sports by a margin of 79% to 18%.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) March 7, 2025
Self-identified Democrats also believe trans athletes should NOT be allowed to compete in women's sports — by a margin of 67% to 31%. pic.twitter.com/Iq9FluKEdo
Overall, 1 in 4 respondents [in the NBC poll], or 25%, said they supported trans women participating in female sports in a yes/no question. The other 75% of American adults said they do not believe trans women should be permitted to participate in female sports...The poll found a significant gender gap between young men and women on the issue. About 3 in 4 Gen Z men (72%) say transgender women should not be allowed to play female sports, compared with about half of young women (56%)...“This is really a distraction,” Ann said. “It matters, but it’s not what is most important right now.” Jay Baca, a 26-year-old who identifies as nonbinary, noted that when trans men compete in men’s sports “nobody bats an eye about it.” “It still comes down to patriarchy, sexism and transphobia,” the Colorado native said.
Good luck with that messaging, 'Jay.' Chris Murphy may earn his/her/their vote, though. Notice that Gen Z females are the most left-wing cohort in the country, far removed from the males of their generation. But even a majority of them reject this extreme and unjust social experiment. A quick observation about the story quoted immediately above:
NBC's recent poll found that opposing biological males competing against women & girls in sports is a 75/25 issue.
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 11, 2025
...BUT in NBC News' article covering their own poll, the quotes are ~25/75, with all "experts" cited taking the extreme view. Journalism!https://t.co/bko9h0Drx5
I'll leave you with a reminder that elsewhere in New England, a duly-elected female legislator is still unable to speak on the state House floor, or cast votes, because Maine Democrats decided that the way she articulated her stance on this issue (on which she sides with the vast majority) was worthy of stripping her of her speaking and voting rights:
Maine Rep. Laurel Libby is receiving support from 15 states in her legal battle to end the censure that is preventing her from voting and speaking on the floor of the Maine House of Representatives, according to our media partner, WMTW. West Virginia Attorney General John B. McCuskey filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to grant Libby’s application for an emergency injunction to stop the censure, pending appeal. The attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia signed onto McCuskey’s amicus brief. The brief argues legislative immunity does not apply in Libby’s case because her vote belongs to the people and not her, claiming that her constituents in Maine House District 90 are the ones being hurt...The attorneys general claim the actions taken against Libby are “a flagrant violation of our constitutional right to equal representation.” On Feb. 25, the Maine House of Representatives voted 75-70 to censure Libby after she named and shared photos of a transgender Maine high school student in a Facebook post, in which she criticized the Maine Principals’ Association for allowing transgender student-athletes to compete in girls sports. As a result of the censure, Libby cannot vote on bills or speak on the House floor until she offers a public apology. Libby has said she will not take her Facebook post down and has refused to apologize for the post.
Yes, the party of "democracy" and "women" took away a woman's right to vote on behalf of her constituents because she was standing up for the rights of actual women. And it might take intervention from the Supreme Court to reverse this anti-democracy, anti-woman madness.
