Donald Trump Threatens to ‘Eradicate Transgender Insanity’ and Suggests Arresting Parents
Donald Trump is tilting at windmills again, but this time he’s catching real people under the hooves of his horse.
Tristan Green
Donald Trump is tilting at windmills again, but this time he’s catching real people under the hooves of his horse.
Trump spoke at a rally in Iowa on Monday, and he took aim at transgender people – one of the most popular hate projects in 2023.
Following in the footsteps of people like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump seized the fear and frustration of his followers and promised to eradicate “transgender insanity,” calling supporting children transitioning “child abuse.”
See: DONALD TRUMP’S BIZARRE PRISON SONG HITS #1 ON ITUNES
Donald Trump Comes for Transgender People
While speaking from Iowa, Trump did not hold back from launching into a culture war just like DeSantis.
He told the audience, “I will immediately sign a new EO to cut federal funding for any school that’s pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity and any other racial, sexual or political content on our children – THEY’RE CHILDREN.”
He added that he will bring “back parental rights into our school system,” which is nearly word-for-word a DeSantis platform.
Trump has called parents supporting their children, “left-wing gender insanity being pushed on our children,” and labeled it “child abuse.”
In February, Trump released a video outlining his policies on the matter, which said in part, “I will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age. I will then ask Congress to permanently stop taxpayer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures and pass a law prohibiting sexual mutilation in all 50 states.”
The Truth About Transitioning As a Minor
Today we released a new poll that shows the negative impacts of anti-LGBTQ policies on LGBTQ policies on LGBTQ youth. Find the full analysis here: https://t.co/217UXigbjS pic.twitter.com/hMtVDajY5M
— The Trevor Project (@TrevorProject) January 19, 2023
Unfortunately, the former President’s speech was heavy on hate and light on facts.
While many transgender people do begin to transition as minors, they do so socially first. This means they may adopt their preferred pronouns in public (or private), they may begin to dress as the gender they identify with, and they may choose a new name.
Some teenagers will also begin taking puberty blockers, a medication which delays the onset of puberty.
But there’s a catch to all of this: very few, if any, minors will be allowed to surgically transition. Everything most minor transgender people undergo to transition can be easily and nearly instantly reversed by simply reverting to their given pronouns and stopping the medication.
C.P. Hoffman, senior policy counsel for the National Center for Transgender Equality, told Politifact, “Even when a minor has parental support for their transition, transition-related surgeries are not typically performed prior to the age of 18. While there are some reports of transgender teens between the ages of 16 and 18 receiving transition-related surgical care, these cases are exceedingly rare and based on the specific medical needs of the teen.”
So why do politicians keep creating falsehoods and saying that parents of transgender kids are mutilating their genitals?
Because “parents are supporting their children using safe and temporary measures that can be easily reversed” doesn’t have the same infuriating ring as “parents are mutilating their kids’ genitals.”
But it’s a lie – and a dangerous one.
Transgender people are significantly more likely to suffer from suicidal ideation and attempts than the general population, and it’s not just because they’re suffering from gender dysphoria.
It’s because they face threats to their lives, discrimination and hatred from people who know nothing about their journey and struggles.
The NIH reports that among transgender individuals, 82% have considered killing themselves and 40% report having attempted suicide, with the rate of attempts highest among youth.
A report on the subject reads in part, “Fifty six percent of youth reported a previous suicide attempt and 86% reported suicidality. Logistic regressions indicated that models for both lifetime suicide attempts and suicidality were significant. Interpersonal microaggressions, made a unique, statistically significant contribution to lifetime suicide attempts and emotional neglect by family approached significance. School belonging, emotional neglect by family, and internalized self-stigma made a unique, statistically significant contribution to past 6-month suicidality.”
When Donald Trump speaks from his pulpit about how supporting transgender children is “child abuse,” he’s actually making a threat – a threat to have parents locked away for doing what their child needs most.
While the plans of people like Trump and DeSantis to ban gender studies at schools makes sense from their perspective, the idea of outlawing a child’s right to adequate medical care does not. After all, children are children – and if children are the focus of Trump’s concern, driving them to suicide seems counter-productive.
And it likely would face a steep uphill battle even in the highly conservative current Supreme Court.
So while Trump may promise the stars to his followers when it comes to threatening transgender people, he likely wouldn’t be able to do much of what he threatens.
However, the fact that he’s saying it is dangerous enough. Children should never be pawns in a political position, but Trump seems happy to throw them under the bus.