‘I should have more forcefully stood up for the transgender community and I apologize unreservedly to those who are rightly offended by my lack of action,’ King says
Controversial comments and social media activity from some PEI Progressive Conservative candidates, including leader Dennis King, caught up with the Tories on the election trail this week, turning up the heat in what has been an otherwise quiet campaign.
King initially defended his comments, saying he did not believe he sounded sympathetic to the man’s concerns, which he said were about a drag queen storytime event scheduled to take place in Georgetown,Later Monday, King issued an apology, saying he should have done more to be an ally to the transgender community when faced with negative comments.
King has also been fielding concerns about social media activities of one of his candidates, Donalda Docherty, who shared with her Twitter followers tweets written by high-profile anti-vaxxers promoting discredited conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and vaccines. In a statement to The Canadian Press, Docherty said the posts she shared are “not consistent” with her views, adding that it is “well known on social media that retweets and shares do not equal endorsements.”
King stressed he does not endorse the views or claims in the posts Docherty shared. After speaking with the candidate, he said he believes they are also not views she shares fundamentally, and he has made no move to remove her as a candidate. Both the Greens and Liberals have jumped on these campaign controversies, accusing the PCs of having one set of views in private while denouncing those same views when challenged on them in public.
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