The former Vice President is buying ads in Iowa promoting anti-trans hysteria as he mulls a presidential run, joining Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump in a shadow primary to establish their transphobic bona-fides.

Transphobia is a useful wedge, but the Christian right is champing at the bit to let loose on another target. They want to roll back all of women’s equality, and enforce a drastic cultural change on the population.

Call it opportunism, call it a social contagion, but the semi-fascist former president will seize on the anti-trans moral panic big time and once he really ramps things up the transphobia will be relentless.