Forum moderator Ken Grant says the respect rule was applied to Arminio “as they would have been for any candidate”
Ken GrantModerator of the Jewish Federation of Delaware candidates forum, in a statement to The Philadelphia Inquirer
In a statement to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Grant, who moderated the forum, said the ground rules shared with candidates in advance were clear: “treat everyone on stage with respect.” He said Arminio declined to do so after a clear and public warning and that the rules were applied as they would have been for any candidate, of any party, on any subject. He asked that attention remain on the nine candidates who “spent the evening answering voters’ questions thoughtfully and civilly.”
“treat everyone on stage with respect. … When a candidate declined to do so after a clear and public warning, the rules were applied — as they would have been for any candidate, of any party, on any subject.”
Original video
Original video
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did Joe Arminio’s misgendering of Sarah McBride warrant his removal from a Delaware candidate forum?
On September 17, 2026, at a candidates forum at the Siegel Jewish Community Center in Wilmington, Joseph Arminio, the Republican nominee for Delaware’s at-large U.S. House seat, referred to his opponent, Rep. Sarah McBride, with male terms, including “his” in his opening statement, which the audience met with boos, and “gentlemen” later. McBride is the first openly transgender member of Congress. After the first instance the moderator, Ken Grant, told Arminio: “This is your final warning. If you fail to show respect to anyone else on this stage, you will be asked to leave.” Arminio said in a later answer that he had “committed an error.” After the second instance his microphone was cut and he was removed. McBride said on stage that she did not want Arminio to be unable to speak. Mike Katz, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, who was on the same stage, has said he called for Arminio’s removal, and afterward called on him to withdraw from the race. Grant later said the rule was applied “as they would have been for any candidate, of any party, on any subject.” Whether Arminio’s conduct warranted his removal from the forum, and whether it warrants his withdrawal from the race, is the matter in dispute. In his first public statement since the forum, issued September 22, Arminio said he appreciated McBride defending his freedom of speech and that he is “a firm supporter of freedom of speech and the Constitution in its entirety.”
Source and context
Original video
About this source
Moderator Ken Grant's introduction before the first-half candidates spoke. He describes the forum as “an opportunity to express and hear issues in a civil way,” says all campaigns “received and agreed to the guidelines,” and reads what he calls “just a few of the important ground rules”: opening and closing time limits, the question-card process, his discretion over follow-up questions and a code of conduct under which audience members who disrupt the event will be asked to leave. The rules read aloud do not include a requirement that candidates show respect to one another, and neither does his shorter reminder before the second half. We could not locate the written guidelines the campaigns received.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Original video
About this source
Joseph Arminio's three-minute opening statement as the second-half U.S. House candidate, identified on his table placard. In it he refers to Rep. Sarah McBride as “his” (“the representative from Delaware, through the net of his comments and his actions”), the audience reacts, and he says “I would like to show respect to the speaker, that would be nice.” Later in the statement the recording captures the words “he's accomplished,” then “she is accomplished,” then Arminio saying “Thank you for the correction.” Moderator Ken Grant then says “We saw an example over the past hour of candidates acting with decorum and with respect towards each other. This is your final warning.” Mike Katz, opening for the U.S. Senate candidates, apologizes to “everybody here and everybody else on the stage” for the comments. The only use of “sorry” in Arminio's remarks in this half is the phrase “I'm sorry to have to say that the representative from Delaware…” that opens the sentence containing the first male terms.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
The Philadelphia Inquirer's report. It carries moderator Ken Grant's statement that the ground rules shared with candidates in advance were to “treat everyone on stage with respect,” and reports that Arminio did not immediately respond to its request for comment.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Grant had warned Arminio on stage — “This is your final warning. If you fail to show respect to anyone else on this stage, you will be asked to leave” — after Arminio used male terms for McBride, and asked for Arminio’s microphone to be cut after a second instance. The rules Grant read aloud before the forum covered time limits, the question process and audience conduct, and he said all campaigns “received and agreed to the guidelines.”
After the quotation
The Inquirer reported that McBride had said on stage she wanted Arminio to stay and that organizers “held firm.” The statement as reported does not address McBride’s request. We could not locate the written guidelines the campaigns received.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
On Arminio’s use of male terms for McBride at the forum after correction and warning, and his removal for it, Grant condemns the conduct, describing it as a refusal to treat everyone on stage with respect after a clear warning, and defends the removal as the even-handed application of a rule. Following this case’s convention that a position on the removal is a position on the conduct that drew it, support for the removal is recorded as condemnation of the conduct. The closest competing label is “Defended or excused”, which loses because what Grant defends is the response, not the conduct under scrutiny.
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- Joseph Arminio
More from this case
Read the full caseArminio invokes free speech in later response to the candidates-forum incident
“I myself am a firm supporter of freedom of speech and the Constitution in its entirety. That, of course, extends to one’s right to assert the “gender identity” of one’s choosing, as well as to assert the facts as one sees them.”Read statement
Delaware Republican Party says no forum should “substitute enforced language for open political argument”
Delaware Republican Party
“Delawareans deserve a real debate, not a debate that ends the moment a Republican nominee refuses to recite the other side’s talking points. We stand with the First Amendment. Candidates should be able to speak, voters should be able to hear them, and no forum should substitute enforced language for open political argument.”Read statement
Nancy Mace calls Arminio’s removal “The Left policing biology and speech”
“The Left policing biology and speech...”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Forum moderator Ken Grant says the respect rule was applied to Arminio “as they would have been for any candidate”". First published: 2026-09-20. Last updated: 2026-09-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/1234-in-a-statement-to-the-philadelphia-inquirer-grant