Transphobe Larry Elder sues GOP for excluding him from presidential debate

Larry Elder — a transphobic GOP presidential candidate — has pledged to sue the Republican National Committee (RNC) because it is not allowing him to participate in its first televised primary debate.

“I intend to sue the RNC to halt Wednesday’s presidential debate,” Elder wrote in a Tuesday morning tweet. “I said from the beginning that it appeared the rules of the game were rigged, little did we know just how rigged it is.”

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To qualify for the RNC’s first debate, candidates needed to have at least 1% support in three high-quality national or early-state polls, a minimum of 40,000 donors (with at least 200 donors located in 20 or more states), and a signed “Beat Biden” pledge to support whoever ends up becoming the GOP presidential nominee.

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Elder claimed that he met all of the RNC’s qualifying criteria before its August 21 deadline. If so, it’s unclear why the RNC might’ve decided otherwise.

“For some reason, the establishment leaders at the RNC are afraid of having my voice on the debate stage,” he added via Twitter. “Just as I had to fight to successfully be on the ballot in the California recall election, I will fight to be on that debate stage because I fully met all of the requirements to do so.”

There has been confusion over which candidates qualified for the debate.

Eight candidates have definitely qualified: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, venture capitalist Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former Trump administration official Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and former President Donald Trump.

However, Trump refused to sign the “Beat Biden” pledge and said he won’t attend the debate, preferring instead to sit for an interview on Wednesday night with anti-LGBTQ+ pundit Tucker Carlson.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez, and businessman Perry Johnson all said that they’ve qualified for the debate as well. However, while the RNC told The New York Times that they’re still certifying Hutchinson’s potential qualification, it’s unclear whether they’re considering Suarez, Johnson, and Elder’s qualifications too.

Elder, a talk show host and failed California gubernatorial candidate, has posted transphobic tweets that misgendered trans conservative Caitlyn Jenner and disapproved of trans women’s inclusion in traditionally cis-female media and sports. Most of the Republican presidential candidates oppose legal and healthcare rights for transgender individuals.