Trump once opened the door to LGBTQ+ community, but activists say he's now their top threat
Presidential actions were widely expected
Trump made anti-transgender attacks a central plank of his campaign reelection message as he called on Congress to pass a bill stating there are 'only two genders' and pledged to ban hormonal and surgical intervention for transgender minors. He signed an executive order doing so in January.
His rally speeches featured a spoof video mocking transgender people and their place in the US military. Trump has since banned them outright from serving. And although June is recognized nationally as Pride month, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters this week that Trump has 'no plans for a proclamation.'
'I can tell you this president is very proud to be a president for all Americans, regardless of race, religion or creed,' she added, making no mention of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Williams described Pride activities as a progressive catch-all rather than a civil rights campaign. 'If you're not in the mood to protest or resist the Trump administration,' he said, 'Pride is not for you.'
Trump declined to issue Pride Month proclamations in his first term, but did recognize the celebration in 2019 as he publicised a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality headed by Richard Grenell, then the US Ambassador to Germany and the highest-profile openly gay person in the administration. (Grenell now serves as envoy for special missions.)
'As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation,' Trump posted on social media.
Times have changed where Trump is concerned
This time, there is no celebrating.
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which Trump named himself chairman of after firing members of the board of trustees, canceled a week's worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights for this summer's World Pride festival in Washington, DC, at one of the nation's premier cultural institutions.
Trump, who indicated when he took up the position that he would be dictating programming, had specifically said he would end events featuring performers in drag. The exterior lights that once lit the venue on the Potomac River in the colors of the rainbow were quickly replaced with red, white and blue.
Multiple artists and producers involved in the center's Tapestry of Pride schedule, which had been planned for June 5 to 8, told The Associated Press that their events had been quietly canceled or moved to other venues.
Inside the White House, there's little second-guessing about the president's stances. Trump aides have pointed to their decision to seize on culture wars surrounding transgender rights during the 2024 campaign as key to their win. They poured money into ads aimed at young men — especially young Hispanic men — attacking Democratic nominee Kamala Harris for supporting 'taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners,' including one spot aired during football games.
'Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you,' the narrator said.
Jennings flatly rejected assertions that the administration hasn't been discriminatory. 'Are you kidding me? You're throwing trans people out of the military. That's example No. 1.'
He points to the cancellation of scientific grants and funding for HIV/AIDS organizations, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's 'petty and mean' order to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, which commemorates the gay rights activist and Navy veteran.
Jennings also said it doesn't help that Trump has appointed openly gay men like Grenell and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to high-profile positions: 'I would call it window dressing.'
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