White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed the Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles called for the “eradication” of transgender identifying people during his Saturday speech at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC)
Prior to fielding questions from White House reporters, the press secretary made a point to “call out the shameful, hateful, and dangerous attacks” on the LGBTQI community.
“It started with a speaker at a conservative conference calling for the eradication of transgender people,” Jean-Pierre said, falsely citing Knowles’ Saturday speech. “Language that not a single national Republican leader has condemned.”
Jean-Pierre also cited proposed legislation in Iowa, Tennessee, and Florida regarding sex and gender issues, though didn’t provide specific legislation text. The press secretary continued citing a “record” amount of “anti-LGBTQ” bills proposed at the state-level.
“The same leaders that tout freedom apparently don’t extend their love for freedom if they disagree with who you are, who you love, or how you parent,” Jean-Pierre said. “It’s government overreach at it’s worst taking away rights from the vulnerable all to distract from a deeply unpopular agenda that caters to the ultra-rich.”
“As the President has made clear … he believes that everyone in this country should live with the safety and dignity. There is no asterisk over the word ‘freedom’ in this country,” she continued. “We will not hesitate to call out this behavior … when it comes to LGBTQ+ community … vulnerable communities across the country that are constantly being attacked, we have their back.”
Jean-Pierre claims @michaeljknowles was "calling for the eradication of transgender people" at CPAC pic.twitter.com/iZMdJh5yfm
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) March 10, 2023
At CPAC, Knowles criticized transgender ideology by suggesting the idea “puts forward a delusional vision of human nature that denies the reality and importance of sexual difference and complementarity.”
“The problem with transgenderism is that its acceptance at any level necessarily entails the complete destruction of women’s bathrooms, women’s sports, all of the specific rights and spaces that women currently have for themselves,” Knowles continued.
If transgenderism is true — if men really can become women and women really can become men — then it is true for everybody of all ages. If transgenderism is false, as it is — if men and women really are different, as we are — then it is false for everybody too. And if it is false, then we should not indulge it, especially since that indulgence requires taking away the rights and customs of so many people.
Following Knowles’ speech at CPAC, outlets including the Daily Beast released articles titled “Michael Knowles Says Transgender Community Must Be ‘Eradicated’ At CPAC.”
The Daily Wire host noted the miscited framing of the outlet’s article and demanded a retraction. The outlet corrected their mistake shortly after, retitling the article “Michael Knowles Says Transgenderism Must Be ‘Eradicated’ at CPAC.”
Knowles responded to the outlet’s edited headline by saying, “I’m pleased to see that [the Daily Beast’s] lawyers scrambled to make them stealth-edit their defamatory headline about me. Unfortunately, this tweak does not constitute a retraction of the article, which remains libelous.”
