Tim Walz Warns of Trump’s Threat to LGBTQ FreedomsOn the eve of National Coming Out Day, Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, rallied participants during a Harris-Walz campaign national LGBTQ organizing call, calling on voters to mobilize in the crucial weeks ahead of the election. The virtual rally was organized by the Out for Harris coalition.
The Thursday evening event featured prominent LGBTQ celebrities and activists, including Andy Cohen and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, but Walz’s words resonated most with attendees. Speaking from the heart, the Minnesota governor focused on the importance of the LGBTQ community’s role in this election and the clear contrast between their campaign and the opposition.
“We are not going back to the times when bullying was accepted,” Walz declared, referencing not only his years as a high school teacher and football coach but also his long-standing allyship with the LGBTQ community. “Let’s be honest, the bullying came from adults in many ways, and it comes from Donald Trump on a daily basis.”
Walz, an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights throughout his career, shared personal anecdotes illustrating his deep connection to the community. He recalled how, as a teacher in the 1990s, he became the faculty sponsor for his school’s first Gay-Straight Alliance. “It meant a lot to have the football coach serve as an adviser to the school’s first LGBTQ organization,” said Jacob Reitan, one of Walz’s gay former students, who introduced the governor during the call.
But Walz didn’t just focus on the past. His message was clear: The future of LGBTQ rights is on the ballot this November. “You know what’s at stake here,” he said, pointing to the divisive rhetoric and harmful policies put forth by Trump and his running mate, JD Vance. Walz called out the Republican Party's relentless attacks on transgender people, noting the millions of dollars spent by the opposition to demonize and scapegoat the most vulnerable members of the LGBTQ community. “That is just vile,” he said. “I think for all of us, it’s time to push these guys into history. It is time to move beyond this.”
The governor also highlighted his long-standing commitment to equality, from supporting marriage equality in his congressional campaigns to signing laws as governor that banned conversion therapy and protected transgender youth. His message was one of solidarity and urgency: “These issues are around freedom and human dignity and protection and choice. All of those things are on the ballot.”
Before Walz’s remarks, Cohen bluntly described the election as a fight between “honorable people” and “a scumbag and a liar,” and Ferguson spoke about the importance of supporting candidates who have the backs of LGBTQ Americans.
California U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia reminded voters of the Biden-Harris administration’s track record of protecting LGBTQ rights. Garcia, who made history as the first out gay immigrant elected to Congress, talked about how Harris has been a dedicated ally since her time as district attorney in San Francisco, officiating some of the nation’s first same-sex marriages. He also contrasted the stark differences between Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance, warning that Trump’s Project 2025 agenda would roll back decades of progress: “It’s between Project 2025 and Donald Trump who wants to take away our rights and move us backward—or… someone, Kamala Harris, who’s going to move us forward.”
Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride, poised to become the first out transgender person elected to Congress, spoke about the dangerous regression Project 2025 would bring, saying Trump and Vance aim to turn the clock back to "the 1950s, or in so many ways, the 1890s." McBride urged attendees to mobilize and ensure victory by electing leaders who would safeguard LGBTQ rights and reproductive freedoms. She also highlighted the hope the Harris-Walz ticket brings, reminding the audience that “the longed-for tidal wave of justice rises up and makes hope and history rhyme.”
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson stressed the threats posed by extremists in state legislatures and Congress who have been attacking LGBTQ rights through legislation and judicial rollbacks. “This is not a coincidence,” she said, calling the attacks a conspiracy to divide the country and destroy democracy.
With just weeks left before the election, Walz emphasized the need for every voter to get involved. “This thing is going to be close. That’s a reality,” he said. “But when we fight, we win.”
With the future of LGBTQ rights and the broader fight for equality hanging in the balance, the governor emphasized that every effort counts in the final push to victory.
“We’ve got very few days left, people,” Walz said, offering a final rallying cry. “All gas, no brakes.”
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