Trump campaign and other Republicans have intensified ads spotlighting Democrats’ stances on transgender-related issues. Including policies allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports and taxpayer-funded gender-affirming care for incarcerated trans-identifying individuals.
These ads, targeted at voter concerns over women’s sports and taxpayer expenses, have stirred controversy, particularly among some of the individuals featured in them.
One such individual, Gabrielle Ludwig, a transgender woman who played college basketball as a 50-year-old biological male on a women’s team, was prominently featured in an ad campaign.
Ludwig, speaking to The Hill, shared the personal toll the ad’s visibility has taken. “I haven’t been able to sleep,” she said, expressing concern over the impact on her family, including her daughters and granddaughters.
“I only did this because I love to play basketball. That’s all it ever was.”
The ad, featuring Ludwig in action during her time on the Mission College women’s team in California, included the tagline “No men in girls’ sports” and was used in at least eight ads targeting Democratic senators in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Montana, and Ohio.
Paid for by the Republican Senate Leadership Fund, the ads showed Ludwig, who was visibly older and taller than her teammates, playing against younger female athletes.
In another ad from the Trump campaign, a photo of Ludwig playing alongside college-aged teammates resurfaced, which has led to concerns for her safety.
“I fear for my life, for my family,” she said, adding that she feels her inclusion in the ads contributes to anti-trans sentiment. “By Trump coming out and using my image, I feel that he’s feeding the fire.”
Ludwig is now contemplating legal action against the Trump campaign and Senate Leadership Fund for using her image without permission but acknowledged that a legal battle could expose her private life further.
“I wish I never lost my anonymity,” she said. “I wish I never, ever joined a women’s basketball team.”
Another individual, Meghan Cortez-Fields, a former collegiate swimmer who transitioned to the women’s team during her senior year after three years on the men’s team, was also featured in ads from Senator Ted Cruz’s campaign.
The ad criticized Cruz’s opponent for supporting policies that allow transgender athletes to compete on teams aligning with their gender identity.
Cortez-Fields expressed unease about the exposure, worrying that strangers could recognize her from the ad and potentially target her with hostility. “It’s a weird feeling,” she explained. “I don’t know who does know and who doesn’t.”
Cortez-Fields also sought legal advice after learning of her inclusion in the ad but was told that pursuing legal action would be challenging.
Other figures featured in the wave of ads include drag performer and Navy sailor Joshua Kelly, environmental activist and drag artist Pattie Gonia, transgender Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, and Arizona drag performer Lil Miss Hot Mess, all of whom have become symbolic focal points in a heated debate over gender identity, public policy, and representation in the U.S.