Far-right website The Daily Wire published a story on November 3 attacking Democratic Arizona gubernatorial nominee Katie Hobbs’ husband, Patrick Goodman, for reportedly treating a transgender patient at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Goodman is a mental health therapist specializing in youth trauma therapy, according to the hospital’s website. 

The Daily Wire piece claims Goodman’s name is “listed on an undated document as a provider in the hospital’s ‘gender support program’ serving ‘gender diverse’ and transgender youth.” It also identifies Goodman as a therapist to one of several trans children whose families sued the state of Arizona for not allowing changes to their birth certificates. (Litigation in the case is still ongoing.) The article admonished Goodman for his work and smeared Hobbs for supporting “sex change surgeries for minors” during her campaign for Arizona governor.  

Phoenix Children’s Hospital has previously been targeted by right-wing media, including The Daily Wire, for offering lifesaving gender-affirming care to trans patients. The Phoenix hospital also came under fire from The Daily Wire for supposedly removing references to the team and resources for the Gender Support Program from its website. The hospital’s gender-affirming care programs were also targeted by the anti-LGBTQ account “Libs of TikTok” run by Chaya Raichik, who joined The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh and other far-right influencers in directing a campaign against children’s hospitals across the country. 

Following the story's release, other right-wing media figures began to share the smears as an attack against Hobbs’ campaign. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk tweeted about Goodman’s work and claimed, “The Hobbs Family is profiting off of the brain washing of Arizona's children. Wow.” 

In his thread on Goodman, Kirk also linked to Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s gender support program.

Studies show that young trans people without familial and professional support are more likely to deal with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts; with proper affirmative care, trans youth are less likely to experience mental health issues. 

Hobbs’ Republican opponent, conspiracy theorist Kari Lake, tweeted The Daily Wire’s story and called Goodman’s work providing therapy to patients with a history of trauma “horrific.” She also claimed Hobbs “is an avid supporter of gender reassignment surgery on children in Arizona.” During a campaign rally on Friday, Lake claimed that Hobbs supports trans youth so her husband could make money by “brainwashing our children” and said that her husband's work was “sick” and “twisted.”

In reality, gender-affirming treatment is widely accepted and recommended by national medical, mental health and education organizations as safe, effective, and lifesaving care for trans and non-binary people.

The Daily Wire story was promoted by various right-wing actors, including Turning Point USA’s Drew Hernandez (who recently heckled former President Barack Obama during a rally for Hobbs), former Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis, and Fox News contributor Charlie Hurt. 

The story quickly spread onto other right-wing blogs as well, including The Post Millennial and The Gateway Pundit. The Post Millennial previously attacked Phoenix Children’s Hospital for its gender-affirming care.