Caitlyn Jenner told The New York
Times this week that she was disappointed with Republican
presidential candidate Ted Cruz's support for transgender bathroom
bills.
Cruz last week attacked rival Donald
Trump's assertion that transgender people have a right to use the
bathroom of their choice.
“If Donald Trump dresses up as
Hillary Clinton, he still can't go to the girls' bathroom,” Cruz
said Sunday at a campaign event.
“When you deal with people who are
repulsive perverts and criminals – there are some bad people in the
world and we shouldn't be facilitating putting little girls alone in
the bathroom with grown, adult men,” he said on Thursday. “That
is just a bad, bad, bad idea.”
On Tuesday, Jenner answered questions
during a Facebook Live event while visiting the Academy for Young
Writers in Brooklyn. The school is a model for creating a safe space
for LGBT students.
Jenner, a Republican who previously
said that she would like to serve as “trans ambassador” in a Cruz
administration, refused to say which candidate she would be voting
for in California's upcoming GOP primary.
Jenner said that laws that prohibit
transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice could lead
to an increase in suicide rates among transgender teens.
“It's tough enough growing up,”
Jenner
told columnist Nicholas Kristof as they stood outside a gender
neutral restroom. “They have gender issues. They have
identity issues. And then thrown on top of that, they don't even
feel welcome by the state. It is just overwhelming for them. And we
would lose more kids than what's happening in the bathroom. To me
that's where the real issue is.”
On Cruz, Jenner said that she was
“disappointed” by his stance on the issue but added he could come
around.
“You're hoping that Ted Cruz is
educable on …,” Kristof started.
“Yes, they just need to be educated
on it. They're really putting kids at risk. They think they're
saving people,” Jenner answered.
Jenner also endorsed boycotting the
state of North Carolina over its controversial law that prohibits
transgender people in public buildings, including schools, from using
the bathroom they identify with.
(Related: Caitlyn
Jenner says Hillary Clinton is “very good” on transgender
rights.)