Matt Walsh at University of Iowa event says gender ideology is 'rejection of truth'

Political commentator Matt Walsh addressed what he claimed was a "larger attack" against his family Wednesday night during an appearance on the University of Iowa campus, saying a hacker recently took control of his phone and accessed text messages, emails and more.

Walsh threatened retaliation and also spoke of his anti-transgender beliefs, saying the transgender community cannot “defend the logic of trans ideology,” during his public appearance in front of a crowd of more than 1,000 at the university's Memorial Union.

The Daily Wire columnist was brought to the University of Iowa by the Young Americans for Freedom at UI, drawing criticisms from many students, including a joint statement from student organizations such as University Democrats and Student Advocates for Planned Parenthood UI, which called for the university to suspend YAF. An online petition opposing Walsh’s appearance and urging the university to protect transgender students received over 4,100 signatures by Thursday morning.

Walsh discusses Twitter hack, says consequences will come

A capacity crowd estimated at 1,200 people, made up of both students and nonstudents, attended Wednesday’s event in the Iowa Memorial Union's main lounge, forcing officials to turn away potential attendees waiting to enter.

Walsh immediately addressed his recent social media hack, which happened Tuesday. His hacked Twitter account posted “offensive tweets about other popular right-wing figures like Andrew Tate and Ben Shapiro,” Forbes reported.

Walsh said reporters on Twitter sought his information from the hacker as he discussed a recent article from Wired, in which the hacker known as Doomed was pegged responsible for the takeover of Walsh’s Twitter. Doomed told the publication Walsh’s phone was “compromised with the help of an ‘insider.’”

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Walsh was adamant he'd find the root of the hack and questioned why the person sought access of his data.

“Now, how did that come about? What sort of insider? What institution was this insider inside of?" Walsh said Wednesday amid applause. "What was motivating the insider to distribute my personal data to a hacker? We can make some educated guesses, but we don’t know at this point. There’s still a lot we don’t know about what happened… but I’ll tell you, we’re going to get answers to all those questions. We’re getting them right now. And there are going to be consequences. There are going to be severe consequences."

Walsh added the consequences extend to the journalists who pursued the hacker for information. He discussed ongoing efforts to “silence” him and “us”— though it was unclear if he was referring to his audience, his body of supporters, or both — including citation of “hit posts.” He cited an article from Media Matters for America in October 2022, which detailed Walsh’s history as a co-host on “The Matt and Crank Program” in early 2010 to 2011 and his comments about teenage pregnancy and marriage and about inciting violence in the name of change.

Walsh says transgender people are attempting to 'restructure society'

Walsh claimed transgender people cannot “defend the logic of trans ideology” and said they’ve “embarked on a campaign to restructure all of human society” around their demands.

It was unclear as to what Walsh meant by “all of human society.”

More: Hundreds of people rally in support of transgender-rights outside Matt Walsh event

Walsh discussed “gender ideology,” a term the Human Rights Watch calls undefinable but “dangerous,” often used to “curtail” sexual and reproductive rights as well as LGBTQ equality by “playing on people’s fear of social change and claiming a global conspiracy of great influence and scale.”

Walsh said gender ideology is the rejection of truth and those who are fighting against the ideology are seen by the left and transgender activists as a danger.

“I truly see the fight against gender ideology as the last stand for Western civilization,” Walsh said. “Because if the sane side loses this, it’s over.”

Before listing arguments about gender and sexuality as well as his rebuttals, Walsh said he believes biological sex is real and it’s what determines a man and a woman. He claimed his belief is held by “nearly every person on Earth,” until recently.

Walsh said there is no need for the term gender and denounced gender-affirming care, though he used language such as “castration” and pushed a narrative that children pursuing transition-related care are receiving surgeries or medications. The National Center for Transgender Equality has stated that “very young children do not receive surgeries or medications” and any surgery for people under 18 is “rare and individualized.”

Who is Matt Walsh?

Walsh is a right-wing commentator and host of “The Matt Walsh Show” and columnist for The Daily Wire, a right-wing media company founded by Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing. He describes himself as a “theocratic fascist,” according to his Twitter.

More: Iowa GOP nears deal on education bill that bans books with sex and limits LGBTQ instruction

He is the author of “The Unholy Trinity: Blocking the Left’s Assault on Life, Marriage, and Gender” and “What Is a Woman?: One Man’s Journey to Answer the Question of a Generation.” Walsh was featured in a film of the same name in 2022, shorted to “What Is a Woman?,” which purports to explore “the logic behind a gender ideology movement that has taken aim at women and children,” according to the film’s description.

Walsh is a vocal opponent of transgender rights, and his views are often explored in his show. Walsh does not use preferred pronouns when referring to transgender individuals and reflected so in the titles of recent clips from his show posted on YouTube, including “Trans Activists Only Care About Pronouns, Not Dead Kids” and “Christian Children Murdered by Trans Mass Shooter." The latter is a reference to reports that the person who fatally shot six children and adults at a Nashville, Tennessee, school in March before being killed by police was transgender.

Walsh’s appearance at the University of Iowa comes a month after Northwest Junior High School was the subject of bomb threats following the Libs of TikTok account sharing on Twitter that the school carries the title “This Book is Gay.” References to the book caused similar threats and evacuations at Hilton Central School District in New York the same week.

Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach her at PBarraza@press-citizen.com or 319-519-9731. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Matt Walsh discusses anti-trans views, Twitter hack at Iowa event