Joe Biden (Frederick M. Brown/Getty)
The biggest transgender activist group in the United States has said Joe Biden is “the advocate and president we need” in a powerful endorsement.
Mara Keisling of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) Action Fund threw her organisation’s support behind Biden in a wide-ranging statement released today (May 5).
“[Joe Biden] has the temperament, the experience and wisdom to lead our country,” Keisling said.
“Throughout his career in public service, work as a private citizen through the Biden Foundation, and now his campaign to lead our nation, Biden has demonstrated his commitment to transgender people and the LGBTQ community,” she added.
Transgender rights group says Joe Biden will ensure they are not ‘erased’ if he becomes president.
Keisling said Biden has a strong track record of “getting big ideas done” from his time as vice president serving under Barack Obama.
“Over the years he has consistently made clear that ‘Transgender equality is the civil rights issue of our time,’” Keisling added.
“With Joe Biden, we know we will be engaged, we will be seen, and we will not be erased.”
The organisation praised Biden for his strong support for transgender rights in the NCTE Action Fund’s Transform the White House candidate series.
He has the temperament, the experience and wisdom to lead our country.
Keisling went on to slam Donald Trump in the statement, and branded his presidency “the discrimination administration”.
“President Trump has attacked transgender health care, put transgender students unnecessarily at risk and led a consistent and unrelenting effort to rollback protections for LGBTQ Americans,” she said.
“Joe Biden is the clear choice for president of the United States, and the NCTE Action Fund is proud to endorse him.”
Biden has previously expressed support for trans rights.
Biden is expected to face Donald Trump in the November presidential election after Bernie Sanders announced that he was pulling out of the race last month.
The once crowded race for the Democratic nomination began to narrow as high-profile candidates such as Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders fell by the wayside.
Biden won some praise from transgender activists in January of this year when he expressed his support for trans rights.
“Let’s be clear: Transgender equality is the civil rights issue of our time. There is no room for compromise when it comes to basic human rights,” the former vice president wrote on Twitter.
However, some activists accused Biden of tweeting about trans rights in an effort to gain popular support from the LGBT+ community.