

Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has joked that he wishes he had been transgender as a teen – so he could ogle teenage girls in the shower.

Mr Huckabee, who is one of nine Republicans who have officially declared they will run for President, made the comments at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention.

Ranting about anti-discrimination laws in a number of cities that outlaw discrimination based on gender identity, he joked about being transgender himself.

He said : “We are now in city after city watching ordinances say that your seven-year-old daughter, if she goes into the restroom, cannot be offended and you can’t be offended if she’s greeted there by a 42-year-old man who feels more like a woman than he does a man.

“Now I wish that someone told me that when I was in high school that I could have felt like a woman when it came time to take showers in PE.

“I’m pretty sure that I would have found my feminine side and said, ‘Coach, I think I’d rather shower with the girls today’.

“You’re laughing because it sounds so ridiculous doesn’t it?

“There’s something inherently wrong about forcing little children to be a part of this social experiment.”

Huckabee recently claimed that child molestation is “not unforgivable”.

Speaking about anti-gay activist Josh Duggar – who was accused of molesting teenage girls after endorsing Huckabee – he claimed: “Josh’s actions when he was an underage teen are as he described them himself, ‘inexcusable,’ but that doesn’t mean ‘unforgivable’.”

Huckabee has previously compared homosexuality to drinking alcohol and swearing.