Anti-Trans Democrat Seth Moulton Booed At Boston No Kings Rally After Sen. Markey Wears Trans Flag

Representative Moulton is challenging Senator Markey for his senate seat in 2026.

WCBV Channel 5 Boston

On Saturday, No Kings protests and marches spread across the United States, drawing an estimated 7 million people. In Boston, at least 100,000 packed the rally to hear movement leaders and elected officials condemn what they called the Trump administration’s authoritarian grip on U.S. policy. Among the speakers were Representative Ayanna Pressley, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Mayor Michelle Wu. But the subtext belonged to Senator Ed Markey and Representative Seth Moulton, rivals for the same Senate seat in 2026. Markey—a noted ally—took the stage draped in a transgender flag and stressed the stakes for trans rights. Moulton, whose comments on transgender issues have drawn fire since Trump’s election, was greeted with boos and jeers from parts of the crowd.

As Representative Ayanna Pressley introduced her colleague, Seth Moulton, a wave of boos rippled through the crowd. The reaction likely stemmed in part from comments Moulton made earlier this year, when he accused Democrats of “spending way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face.” He then invoked transgender girls in sports as his example, referring to them as “boys” and saying, “I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”

See him get booed in this video segment of the Boston No Kings rally (timestamp linked here):

Moulton’s remarks came just after Senator Ed Markey took the stage draped in a transgender flag—a visual declaration of solidarity that set a stark contrast between the two rivals. Moulton declared himself a primary challenger to Markey only a few days ago. Markey, who has long aligned himself with progressive movements, used his time on stage to denounce Trump’s authoritarianism and to affirm his support for transgender people. “We’re going to get up, we’re going to stand for the right thing, and we are going to win. Because here in Massachusetts, we stand for what is right. We stand with trans people because trans rights are human rights,” he said to raucous applause—a clear difference from Moulton’s reception.

See Markey’s speech here:

Representative Moulton’s comments have continued to draw sharp backlash from across Massachusetts politics. In the days after his remarks, Governor Maura Healey rebuked him, saying, “I also think it’s important in this moment that we not pick on particularly vulnerable children… And you know that’s what I’ve been disappointed in seeing,” accusing Moulton of “playing politics” with trans kids’ lives. Protesters gathered outside his district office to denounce his statements, and frustration with Moulton has since lingered among LGBTQ+ Democratic activists—an undercurrent of discontent that continues to follow his campaign. That frustration appeared to have boiled over in the No Kings Rally when he took the stage.

The reaction to Moulton at the No Kings Rally is important to note. Many centrist organizations have been quietly—and sometimes not so quietly—encouraging Democrats to move right on transgender issues, arguing that transgender people cost Democrats the 2024 election. These organizations are well-funded, but Democrats have mostly held firm on transgender rights, with a few notable exceptions. The moment comes as the nation remains in a shutdown, and Republican spending bills under negotiation for FY26 contain dozens of anti-trans amendments that could devastate transgender people nationwide. In the weeks ahead, many Democrats will once again be told to abandon or moderate their stance on transgender rights in the name of political expediency.

Some Democrats, though, are not just refusing to abandon their transgender constituents—they’re leaning in. Recently, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reaffirmed her commitment to her trans constituents in a video message posted to Instagram. New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani released a two-minute campaign ad centered on transgender history and his promise to protect the community. And now, Senator Ed Markey has taken to the stage draped in a trans pride flag at one of his most visible events of the year. Despite relentless efforts to push the party rightward on transgender issues, a growing number of Democrats are doing the opposite: making a full-throated, affirmative defense of transgender rights central to their political identity.