This queer student perfectly broke down the difference between Harris and Trump with one question

This week, MSNBC reporter Stephanie Ruhle sat down with students at Rutgers to discuss Gen Z’s impact on the upcoming Presidential election. What she learned wasn’t exactly new information to anyone who’s been paying attention, but it was an interesting attempt at taking the pulse of college students who are anxious about what the next four years mean for their future.

But amidst talk of policy, identity, and the basics of voting, something else quickly came to light. In an outtake from the conversation making the rounds on social media, one queer student summarized the difference between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump perfectly.

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When Ruhle asked students what questions they’d ask both Harris and Trump, the queer student in question said they would ask Harris how soon we could possibly get the Equality Act passed, a measure that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include protections from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation as well as gender identity.

But the question they had for Trump was quite different: “I would ask him, ‘do you see me as a human?'”

@thejeffreymarsh

Something to think about💛 #lgbtq #trans #love #kindness #humanrights #greenscreenvideo

♬ original sound – Jeffrey Marsh

That really says it all. What a queer person might ask of Harris involves an actual discussion of policy and legal protections for queer and trans people. When it comes to Trump, those same constituents just want to know whether they will be seen as human beings worthy of protection and care under his presidency.

And I think we all know the answer.

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In the comments, viewers expressed heartbreak that the question even needs to be asked of someone running for the top office in the country. “That broke my heart,” one commenter said. “Cried watching that,” another wrote. “It shouldn’t be like this.”

Someone else weighed in, saying: “I would love to give them a hug. None of us should ever have to ask that question.”

None of us should, but so many of us are. Harris is far from a perfect candidate, but for queer people, she represents the difference between having a future in this country and being labeled a dangerous deviant by a system that doesn’t see us as human.

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