Caitlyn Jenner Says She Had A Harder Time Coming Out As Republican Than As Transgender

Caitlyn Jenner stopped by the Republican National Convention Wednesday morning, where she addressed a rally at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and explained why she is “really Republican.” Jenner made it clear she was not speaking for the rest of the transgender community in her remarks.

“I think the Republican Party needs to understand. It needs to know people who are trans,” she addressed the crowd. “I’m here today, since most of you don’t know anyone who’s trans, to get to know somebody.” She told her fellow conservatives that while she was always a conservative, it was not easy to “come out” as a Republican. “It was easier to come out as trans than Republican,” she said.

Jenner went on to address the issue of transgender people’s freedom to choose which bathroom to use. “I haven’t used a men’s room in a year and a half,” Jenner told her audience. “But the issue isn’t about me, it is about the kids. In society today, kids are coming out much younger.” She went on to discuss the rising suicide rate for trans children, calling the state of North Carolina a “bully” for their recent bathroom bill. “You’re creating laws for a non issue,” Jenner said. “There isn’t a problem here.”

At the end of her speech, Jenner addressed Donald Trump directly, saying she’d like to tell the Republican presidential nominee that the trans community “are people who are out there, who have been marginalized for so many years. […] We need to deal with them properly. We need to be open about it, because it is about the kids, the next generation growing up. And we have to provide a safe environment for them.”

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)