Trump falsely says Iowa Democrat backs transgender women in women’s sport

Donald Trump accused Rob Sand, Iowa’s state auditor and Democratic candidate for governor, of wanting “Men playing in Women’s Sports” in a Truth Social post on 1 November 2026. Sand has publicly said the opposite, backing Iowa’s restrictions on transgender girls and women competing on girls’ and women’s school and university teams.

The post urged Iowans to vote for Republican Zach Lahn, two days before the state’s 3 November election. Trump had endorsed Lahn in July and later announced plans to campaign in Iowa to help elect him. His November message repeated much of the earlier endorsement but added the attack on Sand.

Trump also accused Sand of wanting “massive Tax Increases”, “Open Borders” and “Transgender Mutilization of your Children”. In another post recorded by the archive at the same minute, he used the same list against Christina Bohannan, the Democratic opponent of Republican congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

KCRG reported in June 2025 that Sand answered no when asked on radio whether “biological males” should be allowed to compete in women’s sport. A website supporting Lahn alleges that Sand previously opposed a sports ban and only recently changed his position, but KCRG had reported his opposition to participation in 2025.

At an Iowa City town hall in September 2026, Sand said he tended to agree with Republicans on the sports question. Little Village, which covered the event, reported that he supported the state’s ban on transgender girls and women playing on girls’ and women’s school and university teams.

Trump gave no figure for the tax rises he alleged. Sand has proposed ending tax breaks for data centres and raising tobacco taxes. He also supports funding a conservation trust that was originally meant to receive proceeds from a sales-tax increase. He has criticised previous state income-tax cuts, but his campaign told PolitiFact he does not support reversing the recent reductions.

Lahn separately claimed Sand wanted to raise Iowans’ taxes by $7,500 a year. PolitiFact rated that claim false in September, finding that estimated savings from the state and federal tax cuts cited in Lahn’s advert fell well short of that figure.

The “open borders” label overlooks Sand’s support for some immigration enforcement. He told reporters in June that people with criminal records who are in the country illegally should be deported. His campaign says people without legal status should at least be fined. The pro-Lahn website claims Sand opposes deporting people who have not been convicted of an additional crime in Iowa; Sand’s campaign statement does not resolve his position on those cases.