President Donald Trump has drawn criticism after repeatedly using an anti-transgender slur to attack Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Annie Andrews, turning a South Carolina election contest into another flashpoint over transgender rights and political rhetoric.
In an October 5 post on Truth Social, Trump mocked Andrews, a pediatrician and mother of three, by combining her first name with a derogatory term commonly directed at transgender people. Andrews herself is not transgender.
The president used the slur three times while endorsing Republican Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to replace her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, earlier this year.
Trump accused Andrews of supporting what he called “Transgender for Everyone,” alongside claims that she favored open borders, defunding police, higher taxes, and restrictions on gun ownership. He offered no evidence supporting several of those accusations.
Andrews Responds as Republicans Face Tightening Race
Andrews declined to engage directly with Trump’s insults, instead redirecting attention toward economic concerns facing South Carolina families.
Speaking during an October 6 campaign appearance in Columbia, Andrews characterized the president’s remarks as inappropriate.
“If name-calling would help lower gas prices and grocery prices, he can call me all the names he wants,” Andrews said. “But I don’t think that’s going to get the job done.”
Former Republican South Carolina Gov. David Beasley also condemned Trump’s remarks, calling them “abhorrent” and urging voters to reject political attacks rooted in cruelty and division.
The controversy comes as Republicans confront an unexpectedly competitive Senate race in a state Trump carried by nearly 18 percentage points in 2024.
Recent polling has shown Andrews within striking distance of Graham, prompting the Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund to commit $5 million toward defending the seat.
Transgender Americans Become Campaign Targets Again
Trump’s remarks also accompany a broader advertising campaign targeting Andrews over her previous advocacy for transgender youth.
The president shared a political advertisement portraying a transgender person as threatening to a young child inside a grocery store. The advertisement relies on imagery associating transgender people with danger to children while criticizing Andrews’ positions on gender-affirming medical care and school sports.
Andrews has publicly supported access to evidence-based gender-affirming care but has stated that she opposes gender-affirming surgeries for minors. She has also expressed opposition to transgender women competing in women’s sports, positions that differ from claims made in the advertisement.
The Human Rights Campaign condemned Trump’s language, describing it as part of the president’s increasingly hostile rhetoric toward transgender Americans.
The incident illustrates how transgender identity continues to be used as a political attack, even against candidates who are not transgender.
With the November 3 midterm elections approaching, the South Carolina contest offers another example of how transgender rights have become a recurring campaign issue, often overshadowing discussions about healthcare, economic policy, and other concerns facing voters.
For transgender Americans, the controversy raises a familiar concern: language historically used to demean their community is once again being deployed by the nation’s highest elected official.
