When former president and evergreen windbag-cum-bigot Donald Trump announced he was running for re-election in 2024, the reaction from his once-reliable block of supporters was lackluster at best. Between the January 6 committee investigation, a criminal investigation into the Trump Organization, and the rising star of other far-right figures in the GOP (such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis), it seemed that perhaps Trump’s time in the political spotlight was over.
But in a new video, originally posted to far-right social media platform Truth Social, Trump described his step-by-step plan to effectively eradicate trans Americans from the face of the earth. It’s a terrifying look at the future for an already besieged population if Trump once again capitalizes on being underestimated and treated as a joke, the same attitude which played a big part in his 2016 victory.
In just over two minutes, Trump lays out a multi-pronged plan to criminalize the existence of trans people, which he describes as the “left-wing gender insanity being pushed on our children” and claims he’ll use a mixture of executive orders, legislation, and DOJ investigations to “stop the chemical, physical, and emotional mutilation of our youth.”
Trump promises to “pass a law prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all 50 states,” purposely conflating the use of puberty blockers (which “delay unwanted physical changes that don’t match someone’s gender identity” and are reversible), hormone treatment (which generally isn’t permitted until the minor has been on puberty blockers for at least 12 months), and limited instances of surgical treatment—all consensual care that is provided through a licensed professional under careful supervision—with nonconsensual, traumatizing genital mutilation.
But he’s not just targeting trans and GNC youth and the adults who support them. Trump sandwiches a few mentions of adult transition into his plan as well, making sure to hide them among the moral panic about vulnerable minors.
On day one, Trump says he will revoke current President Joe Biden’s gender-affirming care policies, which include a mandate for the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to find ways to expand access to gender-affirming care. He also promises to sign an executive order instructing all federal agencies “to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age.”
Further, if elected, Trump promises to:
- Demand that Congress “stop federal taxpayer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures”—something which is exceedingly rare, as anyone who has tried to use Medicare for “medically necessary” transition treatment can tell you after arguing for months about the definition of medical necessity.
- Revoke Medicaid and Medicare funding from any healthcare provider—individual or network, including hospital systems—that provides gender-affirming care for minors, which would be financially ruinous, effectively making them choose between providing treatment to trans patients and keeping their doors open.
- Enable people to sue healthcare professionals for providing gender-affirming care.
- Investigate “Big Pharma and big hospital networks” to determine if they’re covering up “horrific long-term side effects” and if they are illegally marketing hormone treatment and puberty blockers—even though research shows overwhelmingly positive effects on mental and physical health for people able to socially and medically transition.
- Enact a Department of Education mandate that will investigate any teacher or school official who talks about transitioning for possible “civil rights violations for sex discrimination.”
Trump may be heavily focusing on trans youth, but it’s a strategy that trans activists have warned about. While unsurprising—several bills in red states have proposed banning adult transition—it speaks to the end goal of this movement.
2022 was the worst year on record for anti-trans bills in the U.S. in a disturbing legislative trend that is picking up steam. Trans advocates have been sounding the alarm for years: From the mid-2010s bathroom bills to more recent legislation in red states attempting to investigate parents who allow their trans and gender-nonconforming children to socially or medically transition, the goal of the far-right is the total eradication of transgender Americans.
It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t accomplish all of the action items in his plan; even one or two of them are enough to endanger trans and GNC people.
Further, it’s important to understand that Trump is not the mastermind behind this plan. In fact, if anything, he’s more of a (bloviating) mouthpiece for the strategic and much more dangerous behind-the-scenes actors who represent the far-right as a whole. So even if Trump doesn’t find his way back into the White House in 2024, these plans will if another Republican is elected. Even though there are 643 days until the 2024 election, now is the time to listen and start acting in earnest to support and protect trans and GNC people, or else it could be too late.
(featured image: Dan Readle, Getty Images)
