Republican presidential candidate
Donald Trump on Thursday criticized a North Carolina law that targets
the LGBT community.
Appearing on NBC's The Today Show,
Trump said that he's opposed to House Bill 2, which, among other
things, prohibits transgender people from using the bathroom of their
choice.
“North Carolina did something that
was very strong. And they're paying a big price,” Trump said, a
reference to an economic boycott against the state.
“You leave it the way it is. There
have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the
bathroom that they feel is appropriate. There has been so little
trouble,” he said.
“So, if Caitlyn Jenner were to walk
in to Trump Tower and want to use the bathroom, you would be fine
with her using any bathroom she chooses?” host Matt Lauer asked.
“That is correct,” Trump answered.
Trump's closest competitor, Texas
Senator Ted Cruz, criticized Trump's comments, saying that he was too
politically correct.
During a rally in Frederick, Maryland,
Cruz referenced Trump's remarks, then rhetorically asked, “have we
gone stark raving nuts?”
“Donald agreed with Hillary Clinton
and Barack Obama in attacking the state of North Carolina for passing
their bathroom ordinance,” Cruz said. “And Donald, on television
this morning, said, gosh, he thought that men should be able to go
into the girls’ bathroom if they want to. Now let me ask you, have
we gone stark raving nuts? This is the political correctness.”
In defending the law, Cruz said that
they were needed to protect women and girls from predators.
“Grown adult men, strangers, should
not be alone in a bathroom with little girls. … That's basic common
sense,” he said.
“I am waiting with anticipation for
the new baseball caps, 'Make PC great again,'” Cruz added.
Within hours, the Cruz campaign was
selling the hat on its website.