White House press secretary Jen Psaki began to cry over leaders passing legislation that she claims bullies LGBTQ kids on the “News Not Noise” podcast.
The press secretary began tearing up as she told host Jessica Yellen that newly-passed laws involving LGBTQ issues, notably Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill, are a “political wedge” and “cruel” attempt to win a culture war.
“This a political wedge issue, an attempt to win a culture war,” Psaki said. “And they’re doing that in a way that is harsh and cruel to a community of kids, especially. I’m going to get emotional about this issue because it’s horrible. It’s like kids who are bullied, and all these leaders are taking steps to hurt them, and hurt their lives, and hurt their families. And you look at some of these laws in these states, and it is going after parents who are in loving relationships, who have kids. It’s completely outrageous.”
After regaining her composer, Psaki said the laws are not a reflection of the country as a whole. She then said a teacher should accept students that have same-sex parents. (RELATED: Psaki Says Florida Bill Facing Backlash Is A ‘Horrific’ Form Of ‘Bullying’)
“There are so many layers of this that are just outrageous, and I hope people continue to educate themselves on this because it is a bad side of politics,” Psaki continued. “And I will not cry again during this interview, I promise you. This is an issue that makes me very crazy.”
The press secretary has previously referred to Florida’s bill as “hateful,” which prohibits educators from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3 and requires school districts to notify parents of any changes to their child’s physical, mental or emotional health, except in cases of child abuse. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation into law on March 28.
“Let me first say that the steps we’ve seen in Texas and Florida are deeply concerning and are discriminating against exactly the kind of kids who we need to be loving and supporting,” Psaki said in March. “And I reference Florida because as you know they just recently passed a similar hateful bill that hurt some of the students in need.”
In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate families with children undergoing sex reassignment surgeries, hormone or puberty blocker treatments, deeming such procedures as child abuse.
The Alabama legislature passed a law that criminalizes all sex change treatments for children with a penalty of up to 10 years in prison for doctors performing the procedures.
Several states, including Arizona and Oklahoma, have banned biological males from women’s sports in recent weeks.