Rick Santorum Clarifies Statements About Bruce Jenner’s Gender

Rick Santorum was the target of a well-crafted gotcha question the media only create for Republican conservatives.

Remember when, from out of left field, George Stephanopoulos quizzed Mitt Romney about contraception and thus began the war on women meme?

Recall a few weeks ago, when Marco Rubio got the question about attending a same-sex wedding?

The question for Santorum was the same type as these. Does he believe Bruce Jenner is a woman? For a conservative, there is no good answer to such a question. A liberal can say all day long that Jenner is a woman and get cheers for it. A conservative saying “no” is transphobic. Saying “yes” means he’s a scalp for the left and a sellout to huge portions of the right. And the bottom line is Jenner’s gender has nothing to do with the presidency.

As it happened, Santorum seemed to say yes, and then seemed to double down, but agreed we should show Jenner respect no matter what. This was translated into Santorum’s endorsement of Jenner’s “gender change.”

Social media among social conservatives exploded with concern, disgust, and even anger. Even some of Santorum’s allies believed the worst, that he’d caved on a politically correct issue. And the left did the expected victory dance.

Santorum told Breitbart News he was merely trying to deflect a distraction. He said, “In other words, I am not going to debate with him or that reporter whether he is a woman. He can say whatever he wants about himself. Then, read the rest of my comment: It was an attempt to deflect and focus on the principle of loving everyone and giving each person respect.”

What happened to Santorum is similar to what happens to Pope Francis who makes off-the-cuff comments latched onto by the left as evidence the Catholic Church is changing. That Santorum thinks Bruce Jenner is a woman is as remote as thinking the Pope will endorse gay marriage. But, hope springs eternal in the lefty breast and spin springs eternal from the pen of liberal journalists.

Follow Austin Ruse on Twitter @austinruse.