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Melissa Gira Grant

Melissa Gira Grant is a staff writer at The New Republic, the author of Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex Work (published by Verso), and the co-director of They Won’t Call It Murder (executive produced by Field of Vision). She was a senior reporter at The Appeal, and a contributing writer at The Village Voice and Pacific Standard.


All Articles
January 22, 2025
Melissa Gira Grant
Trump’s Assault on Trans Rights Has Begun. Here’s What to Watch For.
An early executive order shows the White House wants to get into the business of defining sex and gender. That could play out in a few ways.
January 14, 2025
Melissa Gira Grant
The Laken Riley Act Spells Chaos for the Immigration System
The U.S. immigration system isn’t ready for the havoc and expense this bill could unleash. But the real pain will be felt by the immigrants the bill targets.
January 8, 2025
Melissa Gira Grant
Police Unions’ Damning Silence on Trump’s Plan to Pardon Cop Beaters
The president-elect says he’ll pardon January 6 rioters, many of whom assaulted police at the U.S. Capitol that day. Why won’t the unions condemn it? There’s a simple answer.
December 30, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Abortion Prepping for the Trump Era
Preserving access to Plan B, misoprostol, and more isn’t just about stockpiling doses. It’s about building circles of trust.
November 6, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Voters Across the Country Backed Abortion Rights. It Might Not Matter.
Seven states passed ballot measures expanding or protecting the right to abortion. But with hostile law enforcement and Trump in office, that might not go as far as voters hope.
November 5, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Where to Expect Far-Right Election Disruptions
Familiar actors are activating for Election Day and the immediate aftermath. They’re likely to focus on states where counting takes longer, and which are particularly likely to decide the election.
October 31, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Got a Problem? The GOP Has Someone to Blame.
Attack ads have rarely been this incoherent. But they’re certainly consistent: Whatever the issue, Republican ads claim, trans people and immigrants have made it worse.
October 29, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Trump Wasn’t Kidding With That Fascist Rally. Just Ask His ICE Chief.
While Stephen Miller and Tony Hinchcliffe were hurling racist tropes at Madison Square Garden, former ICE acting Director Tom Homan was on CBS explaining what the actual policies of mass deportation would look like.
October 24, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Anti-Abortion Activists Want to Have It Both Ways
You can’t “return abortion to the states” and then get upset when states protect abortion rights.
October 23, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Republicans Are Betting on Anti-Trans Prejudice to Win Swing States
Recent attack ads probably don’t resonate with a large portion of the population. But then, they’re not intended to. They’re intended to make a difference in races with very small margins.
October 17, 2024
MagazineMelissa Gira Grant
The Incomprehensible Scale of Trump’s Deportation Plans
Trump has vowed to launch a mass operation that could involve a force larger than the U.S. Army—and he promises that it will be a “bloody story.”
October 10, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
DeSantis Won’t Let Hurricanes Disrupt His Attack on Abortion Rights
In between two hurricanes, the governor was hard at work abusing his position to fight against an abortion rights ballot measure.
October 2, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Vance Used the V.P. Debate to Lie About Abortion
From misdirection to straight-up whoppers, Trump and his vice presidential pick sowed confusion about their actual positions.
October 2, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Why Some People Will Vote for Abortion Rights—and Trump
That might sound counterintuitive. But when people get to vote on single issues, they don’t always vote with their preferred candidate.
September 25, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Harris’s “Border-State Prosecutor” Rebrand Is a Concession
By talking about crime rather than immigration, Kamala Harris is accepting Trump’s immigration framing while trying to portray herself as the “right” kind of tough.
September 19, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
How Lies About Pet Eating Turned Into Bomb Threats
The racist fantasizing about Haitian immigrants eating pets emerged from the same right-wing ecosystem that produced the violent threats against Drag Story Hour. The playbook is almost identical.
September 12, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
Trump Has a Story All Ready to Help Him Undermine Election Results
You could hear it in his rambling answer about immigrants and election integrity in Tuesday’s debate.
July 31, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
J.D. Vance Has a Conspiracy Theory About Childless People
The vice presidential candidate has said a “childless cabal” wants to “take our kids.”
July 25, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
The Violent Implications of the “Jezebel” Attacks on Kamala Harris
Calling Black women “Jezebel” has a long, racist history. But as a recent video shows, it also has a more modern meaning among Christian nationalists.
July 18, 2024
Melissa Gira Grant
J.D. Vance Really Is the Key to Understanding the American Right
The V.P. pick claimed to be decoding Appalachian politics in “Hillbilly Elegy.” But it’s the cynicism of his sexual politics that offers true insight into the right-wing mind.

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