Darren Bailey’s running mate Trussell blasted over extreme, anti-LGBTQ social media posts

Stephanie Trussell, who is running for lieutenant governor of Illinois under GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey’s ticket, has a history of posting inflammatory political and anti-LGBTQ views on her social media accounts.

Originally unearthed by WGN News political reporter Tahman Bradley on Monday, posts that go as far back as 2015 show Trussell taking many hardline conservative culture war stances, namely against the “gay agenda” and “Klanned Parenthood.”

In 2017, Trussell suggested in a Twitter post that transgender people do not exist and are not able to experience joy.

“Install DNA lock on all public bathrooms and locker-rooms. Stick your finger in the lock and your DNA will open the appropriate door,” Trussell’s tweet said. “We are not interchangeable. Do you think [Caitlyn] Jenner has true joy?”

A different post on Facebook from 2020 featured homophobic comments about gay representation on TV shows, calling it the work of “Satan.”

GOP candidate for Illinois governor Darren Bailey is not alone in using social media to share his cultural views – his running mate Stephanie Trussell also posts on Facebook and Twitter. A closer look and reaction tonight WGN News @ 5:30. pic.twitter.com/jBziCR52ic

— Tahman Bradley (@tahmanbradley) August 15, 2022

The posts received wide condemnation on Twitter. Zack Budryk, an environment and energy reporter for The Hill, said he was “obsessed with the Dumba– Excellence of calling it a ‘common sense solution’ to put technology that does not currently exist in every public bathroom.”

Chicago-based writer and media critic Parker Molloy, who is transgender, wrote that the posts highlighted the “absurd lengths Republicans will go in order to purge people like me from public life is just horribly, sadly depressing.”

The Bailey/Trussell campaign dismissed the reporting in a statement to WGN News.

“Crime is skyrocketing and jobs and families are fleeing under JB Pritzker’s watch. But his campaign and the media are making a big election about old social media posts,” the statement said. “Darren Bailey and I are focused on making Illinois safer and more affordable for every Illinoisan.”

Trussell’s running mate Bailey recently faced criticism for his comments saying abortion is worse than the Holocaust. Bailey and Trussell are the Republican nominees for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. They will face incumbent Democrats J.B. Pritzker and Juliana Stratton in the general election on Nov. 3.