First Transgender US Congresswoman Says LGBT Activists' Tactics Have Failed

In August 2026, Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender woman in the US Congress, stated that the strategies employed by LGBT activists over the past five years have proven ineffective and led to a decline in public support for transgender people.

According to Breitbart , the approval rating of the transgender community in the country is currently lower than it was a few years ago. McBride noted that this was caused not only by a coordinated right-wing movement but also by the mistakes of activists themselves. In particular, she called the tactics of “shaming and blaming,” as well as cutting ties with people holding different views, counterproductive.

“Many of the strategies and tactics that we employed over the last five years didn’t work in staving off the regression,” McBride stated in a video titled “Dignity, Grace, and Better Angels,” recorded for an Epworth United Methodist Church. In her view, the human rights movement became overly uncompromising and moved too quickly to complex social issues when society was not yet ready for a basic understanding of trans people.

The congresswoman urged supporters to abandon radicalism and start building a dialogue with opponents. She emphasized that “imperfect allies” are necessary to protect the rights of the LGBT community — people who may make mistakes or not entirely agree with the agenda, but with whom it is necessary to continue communicating to persuade them rather than isolate them.