Obama on transgender bathrooms: I didn’t make it an issue

President Obama Wednesday rebuffed claims that he made transgender bathrooms a national issue with his directive to the country’s schools.

{mosads}”Somehow people think that I made it an issue. I didn’t make it an issue,” Obama said in an interview with PBS’s Gwen Ifil Wednesday.

“There are a lot of things that are more pressing. You’re absolutely right.” 

Obama in May sent out a directive telling public school districts they should allow transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identities or face losing federal aid for breaching Title IX requirements. Transgender people’s bathroom choices became a hot-button issue after North Carolina passed a law that said transgender individuals should use public bathrooms that match their biological sex assigned at birth. 

Obama’s directive was met by criticism from conservatives, who called the move an executive overreach, and a lawsuit filed by at least 11 states. 

But Obama Wednesday defended his decision, saying that schools were asking for guidance and that “we should deal with this issue the same way we’d want it dealt with if it was our child.” 

“And that is to try and create an environment with some dignity and kindness for these kids,” Obama said. “That’s sort of the bottom line. I have to just say what’s in my heart. But I also have to look at what’s in the law.”