Vishal P. Singh
On Tuesday morning, Donald Trump released an anti-transgender tirade of a speech on his social media website Truth Social, outlining a genocidal plan against all transgender existence in the United States. Everyone on the right from mainstream Republicans to hardcore neo-Nazis are celebrating the video while Democrats and legacy news media outlets have so far largely ignored it. “So this is what we are up against,” tweeted legislative researcher and pro-transgender activist Erin Reed. She continues, “a national transgender ban in 2024. This is what they are planning. DeSantis is practicing this through executive actions in Florida. Trump is openly saying he will do the same.” This is unambiguously genocidal territory. Holocaust museums have warned that this rising anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric mirrors the hate that led up to the rise of Nazi Germany.
“Before 1933, Germany was a center of LGBT+ community and culture, with several renowned organizations serving and supporting trans and gender non-conforming people. Hitler’s Nazi government, however, brutally targeted the trans community, deporting many trans people to concentration camps and wiping out vibrant community structures. ” via the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
Trump’s new campaign has already pivoted focus onto popular culture war issues being held up by far-right media figures. As noted by journalist Ari Drennen, this is not Trump’s first time dabbling in anti-transgender legislative ideas.
While in office, the Trump administration attempted to define transgender people out of existence. They failed due to the rise of the “We Won’t Be Erased” pro-LGBTQ+ movement. The Trump administration also moved to restrict transgender access to unhoused shelters. Just like in 2016, mainstream legacy news outlets are still giving Trump a pass on his anti-transgender projects.
But now, in the current era of conservative culture warring against LGBTQ+ rights becoming mainstream, the impact of Trump planning out a national ban on transgender existence is even more deadly. Trump was recently seen with anti-transgender ideologue Chaya Raichik AKA Libs of TikTok, who has helped usher in this new era of mainstream anti-LGBTQ+ hate from the far-right. Since that meeting, Trump has been mimicking the same anti-transgender language championed by Raichik, with scientifically inaccurate talk of “chemical, physical, and emotional mutilation” and “mutating physical appearance.” Just like the anti-LGBTQ+ leaders of the past, he claims this genocidal rhetoric is in the interest of protecting the youth. In reality, restricting gender affirming care to youth increases their risk and puts lives in danger. “Doctors — not politicians — should be in charge of making medical decisions,” says Kasey Suffredini, Vice President of Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project. “Doctors should be allowed to follow the decades–old, evidence-based standards of care in supporting transgender and non-binary youth and their families, without fear of criminalization."
With 2023 and 2022 both smashing records for anti-transgender bills being proposed across states according to the ACLU, the prospect of national bans and laws emulating what we’ve seen in places like Florida is terrifying the LGBTQ+ community.
Many transgender and non-binary people living in the United States have taken to social media to voice their terror in response to this plan.
Some are even discussing fleeing the United States if Trump wins in 2024.
Here are the proposals outlined in Trump’s genocidal three and a half minute rant:
Pass a bill that falsely claims there are only two genders, male and female
Reverse legislation for life-saving gender affirming healthcare
Ban all education of transgender and non-binary issues in schools nationwide
Ban transitioning for youth nationwide
Sign an executive order to end programs for gender transitioning for all ages nationwide
Criminalize and hunt doctors and educators who try to save transgender and non-binary lives
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