As the autumn equinox approaches in a matter of days, election season in 2023 rounds the corner. While many state-level elections may pique the interest of voters in several regions of America, national media outlets are dead-focused on the 2024 presidential election still over a year away. Following the first Republican presidential primary debates in August, the second round of partisan discourse on the national stage is set to occur on September 27th at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. While notable currently, the debate may end up being completely irrelevant, as the GOP frontrunner Donald Trump is predicted to skip the debate altogether. Trump maintains a 40-point lead over his nearest challenger, Ron DeSantis, and Republican voters remain staunchly loyal to the former president.
Despite this, opponents continue to allege that Trump can be beaten, and as time continues to dwindle with little change in voter opinion, become more and more desperate for media attention. While critics of Trump say (with validity) that he is vulnerable in a general election due to his unpopularity among moderates, most polls showcasing a 2024 rematch between Trump and Biden present a very close race.
In an interview with Megyn Kelly, Trump was questioned on the issue of transgenderism. Instead of displaying his usual bravado and firebrand style of discourse, he struggled mightily. Kelly asked if a male could become a female. Trump, clearly caught off guard by the question, answered with a laugh, and a hesitation, beginning his verbal response with the sound “umm”. He then proceeded to say that a biological male is unable to give birth and used that as a way to indirectly answer the question. In response, Republican rival Ron DeSantis criticized Trump without naming him specifically, giving clear and concise answers to the question and attacking woke ideology and the transgender movement. Trump also spoke about being against hormonal therapy and transgender surgical procedures for children.
