Caitlyn Jenner, America’s most famous transgender celebrity, has already managed to become a political football in the GOP presidential race and is poised to play an even bigger role now that Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee.
This summer, Jenner will surely generate national headlines with a rumored, upcoming semi-nude cover photo on Sports Illustrated. The issue marks the 40th anniversary of her triumph (as Bruce Jenner) at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, where she became a national hero and Wheaties cover-model, after winning the gold medal in the decathlon. Today, despite some detractors, she is, for better or worse, the nation’s most recognizable trans figure, and one who has already shown a willingness to weigh in on politics. Should she use that bully pulpit to continue to hold candidates’ feet to the fire during the next several months, it could provide an intriguing subplot in an already unpredictable campaign season.
Jenner, who is a Republican, has already said she would “never” vote for likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and has called her a “f—— liar.” So, presumably, if she has the potential to influence any 2016 contender — it would be Trump.
“I think that Caitlyn is an individual who offers a unique set of contexts and personal narrative that I don’t think a lot of other messengers can. And as someone who identifies as a conservative, her framing and talking about these issues should have more of an impact on Donald Trump,” Hudson Taylor, the founder and executive director of the non profit, sports-themed LGBT advocacy organization Athlete Ally, told MSNBC on Friday. “Providing privacy for everybody is something that I think Donald and others can get behind.”
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Jenner, who has not endorsed any candidate, said of Trump on her reality show in March: “I’m not a big fan because, I think, of his macho attitude … I think he would have a hard time with women when he doesn’t even realize it”
“It doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be good for women’s issues, I think he would be very good for women’s issues,” she added. “I don’t think he’s out there to destroy women or takes things away or do any of that kind of stuff.”
As Trump pivots toward the general election, he may be forced to re-calibrate some of his more controversial positions from the primaries if he hopes to be competitive in November. One of those positions — which could cause him more problems from the right as opposed to the left — was his take on the recent North Carolina “bathroom bill,” which, among other things, prohibits transgender people from using restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
During an appearance on NBC’s “TODAY” in April, when pressed on the issue, Trump said: “North Carolina did something that was very strong and they’re paying a big price and there’s a lot of problems. And one of the best answers I heard was from a commentator yesterday saying, ‘Leave it the way it is right now, there have been very few problems, leave it the way it is.’”
When asked specifically about Jenner, Trump said he would be comfortable with her using any bathroom she chooses at any of his real estate properties. That comment ignited a mini-firestorm. Trump’s then-rival, the socially conservative Sen. Ted Cruz, attacked the front-runner for his “PC police” position. Jenner herself waded into the issue, sharing a video of herself going to the woman’s room at Trump Tower in New York City.
Ironically, Jenner expressed an affinity for Cruz early on, even going so far as to say she would volunteer to be the senator’s “trans ambassador,” but her viral video from Trump Tower seemed to imply that she had soured on the Texas lawmaker.
“By the way Ted, nobody got molested,” she quipped after exiting the bathroom in the clip, in a direct reference to fears Cruz stoked while campaigning against equal rights for trans people.
During a visit with low income LGBT students of color alongside New York Times columnist Nick Kristof this month, Jenner extrapolated on her views. “There are three Republicans who have been arrested in men’s bathrooms for lewd behavior,” Jenner told Kristof. “So, you know, maybe we should kind of ban the Republicans from going in there!”









