Democrat blasts GOP criticism of Biden proclaiming Easter as Transgender Day of Visibility

WASHINGTON – Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., blasted Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., after the House Speaker criticized President Joe Biden for proclaiming March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility – the same day Easter falls this year.

In a tweet Saturday, Johnson said that the Biden White House has “betrayed the central tenet of Easter – which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

“Banning sacred truth and tradition – while at the same time proclaiming Easter Sunday as ‘Transgender Day’ – is outrageous and abhorrent,” Johnson wrote in his post.

In response, Warnock, a Baptist pastor, said on CNN’s "State of the Union" Sunday that Johnson “finds trans people abhorrent.”

“March 31 has been a day to lift up transgender people who endure violence and bigotry,” said Warnock. “Easter – the date changes every single day. But this is just one more instance of folks who have, who do not know how to lead us trying to divide us.”

More: Transgender Day of Visibility: The day explained, what it means for the trans community

Other Republicans on X, formerly Twitter, had also criticized Biden for his proclamation. For instance, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., tweeted that “there is no length Biden and the Democrats won’t go to mock your faith, and to thumb his nose at God.”

But Warnock said in the interview that criticisms of the Transgender Day of Visibility are the “opposite of Christian faith.”

“Jesus centered the marginalized. He centered on the poor. And in a moment like this, we need voices – particularly voices of faith – who would use our faith not as a weapon to beat other people down but as a bridge to bring all of us together,” Warnock said. "That is what Martin Luther King Jr. did and I'm honored to preach from that pulpit every single day."

Biden said in his proclamation that "extremists are proposing hundreds of hateful laws that target and terrify transgender kids and their families," and called upon Americans "to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Warnock blasts Johnson for criticizing Transgender Day of Visibility