Adm. Rachel Levine, the trans-identifying assistant secretary for health in the Biden administration, mocked critics who slammed President Joe Biden for celebrating the “Transgender Day of Visibility” on Easter.
On Sunday, as Christians worldwide celebrated Easter, Biden posted on X, “Today, on Transgender Day of Visibility, I have a simple message to all trans Americans: I see you. You are made in the image of God, and you’re worthy of respect and dignity.”
Today, on Transgender Day of Visibility, I have a simple message to all trans Americans:
I see you.
You are made in the image of God, and you're worthy of respect and dignity. pic.twitter.com/ihvsJrXEyd
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 31, 2024
He also posted, “On Transgender Day of Visibility, we celebrate the joy, strength, and absolute courage of some of the bravest people I know.”
On Transgender Day of Visibility, we celebrate the joy, strength, and absolute courage of some of the bravest people I know.
Today, we show millions of transgender and nonbinary Americans that we see them, they belong, and they should be treated with dignity and respect. pic.twitter.com/mhixHV9KC2
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 31, 2024
Among others, former President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign released a statement calling the declaration an example of the Biden administration’s “years-long assault on the Christian faith.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) posted on X that the White House “has betrayed the central tenet of Easter — which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ … Banning sacred truth and tradition — while at the same time proclaiming Easter Sunday as ‘Transgender Day’ — is outrageous and abhorrent. The American people are taking note.”
Former Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker said on X, “This should [be] evidence to anyone who voted for Biden in 2020 because they thought he was reasonable that he is not. Biden is pandering to the radical fringe within politics. The only reason to pick Easter Sunday for this day was to stir up division with Christians. He is wrong!”
Levine subsequently mocked the critics in an interview with The Advocate, saying, “I felt that it was faux outrage. It was manufactured … It’s just that this Sunday was Easter, which is a very important holiday and very important event, and it also just happened to be the 31st.”
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Levine then cited the iconic “Star Wars” films, declaring that the critics were, in reality, afraid: “You know there’s a quote from Yoda … Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering.”
“This is not a social contagion phenomenon, and we’ve been around forever, hiding in the closet. So, the ability in our society now is not to be in the closet. We need to foster that and to nurture that,” Levine insisted.
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.