Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made controversial remarks about transgender people while discussing priorities of various issues within the Democratic Party.

Bloomberg chided the Democratic Party for its focus on social issues, such as gender dysphoria, during a March 2019 forum hosted by the Bermuda Business Development Agency. "If your conversation during a presidential election is about some guy wearing a dress and whether 'he,' 'she,' or 'it' can go to the locker room with their daughter, that's not a winning formula for most people."

Bloomberg then went on to say he believes voters care more about the issues of healthcare, education, and public safety. He later blamed the Democratic Party for aiding the election of President Trump because they moved "so far left."

“You can understand if you take a look at the Democratic Party. They are so far left that, two years ago, there was nobody on their side that would take these positions, and, today, virtually all the candidates for president of the Democratic Party have been so 'progressive.' I don’t know what 'progressive' means.” Bloomberg made the comments just months before announcing his candidacy for president.

A Bloomberg campaign representative addressed the comments in a statement to BuzzFeed:

"Mike understands that the transgender community has been under attack for decades and the advance of rights has not been equal. In April 2002, during his first year as mayor, Mike signed a sweeping transgender civil rights bill into law. His company provides comprehensive healthcare coverage for his transgender employees. As president, he has a comprehensive plan to secure rights for transgender Americans, including passing the Equality Act, ensuring transgender people have access to affirming healthcare and working to end the crisis of violence against transgender women. Mike is running to defeat Donald Trump and reverse the many policies he has implemented that attack the rights of the transgender community."

Bloomberg's comments echo statements he made in 2016 while at an event at Oxford University in which he said the "the vast bulk of people" don't empathize with issues raised by the "intelligentsia."

"If you want to know if somebody is a good salesman, give him the job of going to the Midwest and picking a town and selling to that town the concept that some man wearing a dress should be in a locker room with their daughter," Bloomberg said. "If you can sell that, you can sell anything. They just look at you, and they say, 'What on Earth are you talking about?'"