In a series of tweets Thursday night, presidential candidate Julián Castro’s campaign set the record straight: he does support a biological man’s right to get an abortion.
“Does Julian Castro plan on reiterating his support for extending abortion rights to men in tonight’s #EqualityTownHall?” tweeted Michael Knowles, Daily Wire podcast host and author of a bestselling book with no words, Thursday night.
“Of course,” the Castro campaign’s national political director responded. “To anyone who needs an abortion, however they identify.”
Castro’s support for “anyone” to get an abortion first made headlines after the first Democratic presidential primary debate in June, when the former Housing and Urban Development Secretary made one of the more memorable gaffes of the night.
Asked if his health care plan would cover abortion, Castro proudly declared — like the rest of his progressive colleagues — that it definitely would. But as Castro began to elaborate on what “health care” a “woman” should or shouldn’t be provided, he tripped over the transgender issue and made this head-turning claim: A “trans female” — a biological male who identifies as a woman — should be able to have an abortion, too.
“I don’t believe only in reproductive freedom, I believe in reproductive justice,” said Castro. “And, you know, what that means is that just because a woman — or let’s also not forget someone in the trans community, a trans female — is poor, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have the right to exercise that right to choose. And so I absolutely would cover the right to have an abortion.”
As left-leaning Politico noted, “Castro won applause inside the debate hall for mentioning reproductive justice and the trans community. But he was also lightly criticized on Twitter by LGBT activists for mistakenly saying ‘trans female.'”
Amid the “light criticism,” Castro’s campaign manager Maya Rupert clarified to Politico that he’d simply misspoken.
“When we’re talking about abortion access and really access to reproductive rights stuff in general, there a number of people who don’t identify as women who still need access to those services,” said Rupert. “It’s trans men, it’s nonbinary folks — a lot of people. What he was trying to do was say, ‘Yes, women do need access to abortion, but it’s also important to remember that a lot of times you need a path for trans folks as well.'”
But on Thursday night, Castro’s national political director Natalie Montelongo, responding to Knowles’s joke, de-clarified the progressive candidate’s position on abortion rights for men.
“Does Julian Castro plan on reiterating his support for extending abortion rights to men in tonight’s #EqualityTownHall?” Knowles trollingly tweeted.
“Of course,” responded Montelongo. “To anyone who needs an abortion, however they identify.”
“I just made a joke that Julian Castro supports abortion rights for men, based on a misstatement he made at an earlier debate,” Knowles wrote in a bemused follow-up tweet. “The campaign’s national political director just confirmed that Castro does, in fact, support abortion rights for men. We’re through the looking-glass.”
Does Julian Castro plan on reiterating his support for extending abortion rights to men in tonight’s #EqualityTownHall?
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) October 11, 2019
Ofcourse. To anyone who needs an abortion, however they identify. #EqualityTownHall https://t.co/ItnsabXCLT
— Natalie Montelongo (@natimontelongo) October 11, 2019
I just made a joke that Julian Castro supports abortion rights for men, based on a misstatement he made at an earlier debate.
The campaign’s national political director just confirmed that Castro does, in fact, support abortion rights for men.
We’re through the looking-glass. https://t.co/6eDCafICUV
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) October 11, 2019
Knowles has since posted a video online highlighting the Castro campaign’s response and other Democrats’ increasingly radical stances on transgenderism, particularly as it relates to children with gender dysphoria.
Castro campaign confirms he supports abortion rights for men. #EqualityTownHall https://t.co/TfvjSv9CcT
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) October 11, 2019