In the wake of my post, “Flooding the Zone with Trump,” I’ve had some discussions with folks who pointed out that the Trump administration’s move to delete the “T” and the “Q” in the LGBTQ acronym has directly impacted the Stonewall National Monument in New York City, which opened to the public last year. Apparently, any references to the “T” (transgender-identifying people) or the “Q” (queer-identifying people) have been deleted, just as they have been deleted on other government websites. There has long been a debate even in LGBTQ circles about who played the chief role in the Stonewall riots: gay men? lesbians? drag queens? transgender? queer street kids? I don’t have a dog in that internecine battle. As far as I’m concerned, the Stonewall riots were a key moment in the struggle for human freedom and personal flourishing, and the rainbow flag is big enough to accommodate those who identify with that struggle.
The current administration could not care less about those internecine battles. Perhaps the administration is engaged in a “divide and conquer” strategy, which pits gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals against transgender and queer-identifying people. Or, even more likely, the administration’s marginalization of trans and queer folks is an exercise in petty, spiteful, hateful bigotry. Their motives really don’t matter. Their policies, however, will have an impact.
As a gay man who celebrates the Stonewall legacy, I refuse to throw my trans and queer friends under the bus and I stand with them in their fight for human dignity.
However, it is infuriating that, during the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump himself stood up in front of the Republican National Convention and proclaimed that he would protect the rights of “LGBTQ citizens” against hateful terrorist ideologies. When the RNC crowd applauded, he seemed to express astonishment: “And I have to say, as a Republican, it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said.” Check out that moment in full here:
Trump went further. When North Carolina tried pushing an anti-trans bathroom ban, he appeared on the Today show and announced his opposition to such a ban. He stated unequivocally that there were very few problems or complaints and that people should simply use the bathrooms in which they feel comfortable. And if transgender athlete Caitlyn Jenner walked into Trump Tower and wanted to use any bathroom of her choice, he’d have no issue with it. (Jenner, who has very conservative opinions on everything from abortion to transgender participation in sports, supported Trump in 2016, but not in 2020. She supported him again in 2024.) Check out Trump’s 2016 Today remarks here:
So, the question is: What happened? Has Trump been suffering from some kind of political dysphoria? Is he engaged in his own form of “transitioning“?
I don’t think it really matters. Because, ultimately, except for a few hardcore “America First” beliefs that translate into nationalism, protectionism, and nativism, Trump is a politician. At one time, he took pride in “Operation Warp Speed,” which funded mRNA vaccines to combat COVID. When his MAGA base turned against those vaccines, he too became a vaccine skeptic and his new Health and Human Services czar, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., might very well take that skepticism to a new level entirely.
At one time, Trump was pro-choice—and yet, he crafted a Supreme Court majority that destroyed federal protections for reproductive rights by overturning Roe v. Wade, something for which Trump proudly takes credit.
Back in 2016, he had important things to say about American foreign policy. He was belatedly critical of the Iraq War and when questioned by Bill O’Reilly about how Russia had interfered in U.S. elections, he replied correctly: “You think our country’s so innocent?” Indeed, the United States government has been responsible for toppling more governments abroad (both covertly and overtly) than perhaps any other government on earth. Alas, Trump 1.0 offered no “revolution” in foreign policy. But Trump 2.0 has transitioned! Now, he’s talking about annexing the Panama Canal, Greenland, and the Gaza Strip!
So, yeah, in 2016, maybe it was politically advantageous to talk about inclusivity. But Trump 1.0 didn’t waste any time in reversing LGBTQ anti-discrimination policies. By 2024, his MAGA base had been electrified by years and years of anti-“woke”, anti-LGBTQ political attacks, mounted by the Rogue’s Gallery of GOP presidential hopefuls—from Governor Ron “DeSanctimonious” to Vivek Ramaswamy, who engaged in a sweeping indictment of “transgenderism” as a testament to their “deluded and mentally deranged state.” Trump 2.0 is now in the process of erasing transgender identity across the board.
Of course, the Trump administration’s anti-trans agenda pales in comparison to what Trump has said about “migrants,” as he ramps up his mass deportation plans. We can be comforted by the fact that, “transitioning” aside, the one constant in Trump’s rhetorical and political arsenal has been his virulent hatred of immigrants.
To say I’m worried about the next four years is an understatement. Gay icon, Margo Channing, played by Bette Davis in “All About Eve” gets the last word for now …
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