‘How Did We Get Here?’ Nicolle Wallace Gets Emotional Reading Mother’s Story About Trans Son Growing up In Texas

MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace got emotional on-air while reading an excerpt from a Slate article that details the pain and worry of a Texas mother whose son is transgender.

“If people don’t agree with the medical decisions we have made on our son’s behalf, that’s fine; people don’t have to agree with us or like us or even want to associate with us, but they have no right, moral or otherwise, to force us to flee the state,” Wallace read.

“But I’m also still at some weird stage of, like, if they could just please, for the love of God, just please just back off an inch. Give us just one ounce of grace or understanding or compassion, I’d let it all go. No harm, no foul, I promise. Just let us live our quiet, dorky, short lives in peace, and I’ll abandon the anger and gradually let go of the terror.”

Wallace paused briefly, then continued, “And maybe someday I’ll stop being sad about what humans do to each other.”

Wallace then addressed her guest, Democratic strategist Aisha Miller.

“How did we get here, Aisha?” asked Wallace, whose voice was quivering. “That a mom with a trans son just wants someone to find the grace to just back up.”

The discussion came in the aftermath of two recent major events for LGBTQ youth: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed an expansion of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law, which prevents the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity for kindergartners through 12th graders. The second, was the Republican-led U.S. House vote in favor of the “Ban Transgender Athletes In Girls’ Sports” bill, which now heads to the Democratic-led Senate, where it is expected to fail.

Both Wallace and Mills took issue with anti-LGBTQ legislation targeting youth.

“I’ve been fighting these fights for almost 20 years now and the opposition is the same: a bunch of hate-filled people who think that  they have the right to determine whose lives matter, at the end of the day is what this is about and it is not new,” Mills said.

“What continues to be disheartening and sad is the way they are going after children, young people, who are at the beginning of their lives of self-discovery and of understanding who they are and wanting to have meaning with their lives.”

Watch the MSNBC clip above.