On Sunday, GOP 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy joined Chuck Todd on Meet the Press.
During the interview, Todd seemed confused about basic biology.
Ramaswamy asserted, “Below the age of 18, I think it’s perfectly legitimate to say that we won’t allow genital mutilation or chemical castration through puberty blockers.”
Todd took issue with the rational desire to not inflict permanent physical damage on minors.
TODD: You’re calling it that, but how do you know it’s that? Again, how do you know? Are you confident that you know that gender is as binary as you’re describing it? Are you confident that there isn’t a spectrum”
RAMASWAMY: I am.
TODD: Do you know this as a scientist?
RAMASWAMY: Well, there’s two X chromosomes if you’re a woman, and an X and a Y that means you’re a man—
(crosstalk)
TODD: There is a lot of scientific research out there that says gender is a spectrum.
RAMASWAMY: Chuck, I respectfully disagree. Gender dysmorphia, for most of our history, all the way through the DSM5, has been characterized as a mental health disorder. And I don’t think it’s compassionate to affirm that, I think tha’s cruelty.
When a kid is crying out for help…what they’re asking for…you’ve gotta ask what else is going wrong at home….what else is going wrong at school. Let’s be compassionate and get to the heart of that rather than playing this game as though we’re actually changing our medical understanding for the last 100 years.
CHUCK TODD: Are you confident that you know that gender is as binary as you’re describing it?@VivekGRamaswamy: I am.
TODD: Do you know this as a scientist?
RAMASWAMY: There are two X chromosomes if you’re a woman and an X and a Y…
TODD: There is a lot of… pic.twitter.com/KyVZnASdmv
— Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) April 30, 2023