Republican gubernatorial hopeful Tim James on Friday released his campaign’s latest television advertisement, which features the candidate taking aim at “the first transgender public school” in Alabama receiving taxpayer funding.
The school James places in his crosshairs is the Magic City Acceptance Academy, which includes in its mission statement the intention of fostering a “brave learning environment and LGBTQ affirming culture for all.”
The 30-second spot, titled “Genesis,” begins with a clip of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson failing to provide a response to a question asking her what the definition of a woman was, to which James says, “That’s Biden’s choice for the Supreme Court.”
The ad transitions into a clip of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, with James adding, “Come on. That’s a man in a woman’s bathing suit.”
The ad then hones in on James decrying taxpayer dollars being distributed to the Magic City Acceptance Academy while presenting images of what his campaign describes as a staff-organized drag queen show fundraiser.
“And now, right here in Alabama, millions of your tax dollars are paying for the first transgender public school in the South,” James says in the ad. “Enough of this foolishness. I’m Tim James. Male and female — He created them. It’s time to fight back.”
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In a statement accompanying the ad release, James asserted that President Joe Biden and the “radical left” were actively promoting “transgenderism” to the nation’s youth.
“I wish that part of the title of this press release and the subject of our new tv ad were an April Fool’s joke,” admitted James. “Joe Biden and the radical left have abandoned objective truth and scientific reality. They have lost the ability to make basic moral statements or choose between right and wrong. They nominated a woman for the Supreme Court who refuses to say what a woman is. They celebrate and push transgenderism on our youth without hesitation.”
He concluded, “But we cannot view this as being a national problem only. This culture war has come to Alabama. Last year, our Public Charter School Commission approved the first LGBTQ public school in the South, where just last week, the faculty scheduled and participated in a drag queen show fundraiser for the students. Two million dollars of taxpayer money is being used to fund this school. I cannot believe that Governor Ivey and the Alabama legislature have permitted this to happen. Caving to the radical LGBTQ agenda must stop. It’s time to fight back.”
The Magic City Acceptance Academy launched in 2021 after its charter application was approved in November 2020 by a 7-2 vote of the Alabama Public Charter School Commission.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL