Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) has been accused of “betraying” his own party for speaking out against male transgender athletes in girls’ sports, with one Salem lawmaker even calling on him to resign.

“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” Moulton said in an interview with the New York Times published Thursday. 

“I have two little girls. I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that,” he added.

Moulton’s campaign manager and director of his political committee, Matt Chilliak, immediately resigned without commenting on the controversy, according to the Boston Globe.

​​In the congressman’s hometown of Salem, Mayor Dominick Pangallo and the School Committee sent out a joint memo saying Moulton’s remarks “do not reflect our values.”

“We want to reassure our LGBTQ+ students that we as district leaders will always celebrate your identities, support your dreams and aspirations, and applaud your accomplishments,” the email to Salem residents stated.

Progressive Massachusetts state Rep. Manny Cruz (D) took to X to denounce the congressman’s stance, saying Moulton “betrayed” his previous commitment to stand against anti-LGBTQ hate crimes:

“Now you are the first to abandon the LGBTQ+ community, and have gone back on your word,” Cruz said Friday:

“Your statements @RepMoulton yesterday and today are a large part of the reason Democrats underperformed across the country,” the state representative continued. “It is this type of hypocrisy from national Democrats that has led the American people to believe that our party is untrustworthy. Your blind spots and hypocrisy are glaring.”

“[Moulton] cannot see the harm your doubling down is doing to our neighbors. You should apologize and tell us your plans to protect vulnerable populations instead of joining in the crackdown led by @realDonaldTrump.”

Salem City Councilor Kyle Davis (D) said he is “not looking for an apology from @sethmoulton I’m looking for a resignation”:

State Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D) also criticized Moulton, writing a condemnation of his comments to the New York Times and telling him to “not abandon our values” on X:

Despite the backlash from his own party and fellow lawmakers, Moulton doubled down on his stance in a statement obtained by WCVB on Friday:

I stand firmly in my belief for the need for competitive women’s sports to put limits on the participation of those with the unfair physical advantages that come with being born male. I am also a strong supporter of the civil rights of all Americans, including transgender rights. I will fight, as I always have, for the rights and safety of all citizens. These two ideas are not mutually exclusive, and we can even disagree on them. Yet there are many who, shouting from the extreme left corners of social media, believe I have failed the unspoken Democratic Party purity test. We did not lose the 2024 election because of any trans person or issue. We lost, in part, because we shame and belittle too many opinions held by too many voters and that needs to stop. Let’s have these debates now, determine a new strategy for our party since our existing one failed, and then unite to oppose the Trump agenda wherever it imperils American values.

Another Democrat, Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York, has also received backlash for espousing similar views in the Times article:

“The Democrats have to stop pandering to the far left,” Suozzi, who beat former New York state Rep. Michael LiPetri (R) on Tuesday said. “I don’t want to discriminate against anybody, but I don’t think biological boys should be playing in girls sports.”

“Democrats aren’t saying that, and they should be.”