Former President Donald Trump was asked about his pronouns on Fox News, and his answer left critics shaking their heads.
In the second part of an interview that aired Tuesday, Fox News host Laura Ingraham mentioned that Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has “she/her” in her social media bio to indicate her pronouns.
“What are your pronouns?” Ingraham asked Trump.
“I have no — I don’t want pronouns,” the Republican nominee said.
“So, you’re fluid? What is that?” Ingraham replied.
“Nobody even knows what that means. Ask her to describe exactly what that means,” Trump added.
Clearly, that’s not true. Pronouns are a crucial part of the English language, helping people describe things without repeatedly using names or nouns.
It’s also a way for trans or nonbinary people, or their allies, to indicate and affirm their gender identity, avoid misgendering and signal respect. For this reason, many people include their pronouns in their social media bios.
Republicans, who have been systematically attacking LGBTQ+ and especially trans rights across the country, often ridicule those who state their pronouns, in some cases going as far as introducing legislation that would prohibit people from using pronouns that don’t correspond to their sex assigned at birth.
Trump’s remark prompted some schooling and much mockery online.