REP. ASHLEY TRANTHAM: This GOP Candidate Let Our Daughters Down

Less than a decade ago, parents weren’t bombarded with drag queens at school functions, preferred pronouns for five-year-olds, or choosing to pull their children out of school afraid of what leftist propaganda they’d be taught, instead of how to read and write. We never thought our daughters would lose opportunities on the field because men would take their spot or fearful of grown men using girls’ restrooms under the guise of “inclusion.” Yet here we are.

Some of us saw this coming, me among them. That’s why I introduced the Save Women’s Sports Act in the South Carolina legislature in 2020.   

The left and the media decried my bill unnecessary and hateful. It was neither. My bill was, and is, a commonsense measure to protect our girls and keep competition fair and equal.    

Thankfully, it’s now the law of the land in the Palmetto State. Biological boys cannot compete against biological girls in sports, from elementary school through college. (RELATED: HADLEY HEATH MANNING: Nikki Haley Should Run On Her Record, Not Her Identity)

I’m glad that in South Carolina our female athletes are protected. And I’m grateful to my colleagues whose principles never wavered in the face of push back and ridicule from the onslaught of non-stop attacks from the media, donors, and powerful liberal lobbying groups.

Standing up for what is right, even, and especially, when you’re under attack from all sides, is true leadership. That’s why I support Ron DeSantis for president. He never backs down and has always stood up for the truth, no matter the political consequences.

Not all presidential candidates can say the same – including former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

When South Carolina needed a true conservative leader, Nikki Haley was nowhere to be found.

While she was governor, the Legislature introduced a bill to prohibit biological boys from using girls’ restrooms. Instead of taking a clear stand for what is right and protecting our girls, Nikki Haley caved. Fearful of the backlash from the left and the media, she dismissed the bill “unnecessary,” and it went nowhere under her administration.

The leftist outlet, Slate praised Nikki Haley for doing “a wonderful job leading her state away from the dark path of discrimination.” (RELATED: DEBJYOTI DWIVEDY: Dems, Media Attack Nikki Haley For Being What They Fear Most — A Smart, Conservative Woman Of Color)

Nikki Haley doesn’t deserve to be praised, much less given the opportunity as president to abandon our daughters again. I can’t help but think: If she had been a true leader with the foresight to support something as simple as keeping men out of women’s restrooms, would South Carolina have even needed a bill to protect women’s sports? When she left office, she also left a void in leadership that conservatives like me stepped up to fill in our great state.

It was no surprise that she later invited Disney, a woke corporation which caters to the transgender liberal agenda, to come to South Carolina. (As a parent, I’d much prefer Disney to stay headquartered in California.)

Now more than ever, America needs a president who is battle-tested, who we can count on to stand with us and fight for common sense and fairness. Governor Haley’s record shows that when push comes to shove, she’ll ditch conservative principles for a glowing headline in the Washington Post and high fives from her corporate donors.

We are in a fight for the future of America. The radical left has poisoned our institutions from inside out. We need a conservative fighter in the White House who make no excuses, root out the evil, and replace it with faith in God and patriotism, not another establishment darling who will sell conservatives out and do nothing to further our agenda.

Ashley Trantham represents the 28th District in the South Carolina House of Representatives.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.