Donald Trump launches presidential bid with anti-trans speech
Donald Trump has announced his bid to become the Republican candidate in the 2024 US presidential election. He delivered this news with an hour-long speech at his property in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, declaring that “America’s comeback starts right now.” During his 2016-2020 presidency, he was notoriously anti-LGBTQ+.
In his latest speech, Trump claimed he would not let trans people participate in sports that align with their gender identity: “We will not let men…participate in women’s sports.” His administration pushed this policy throughout his presidency, including for high school students.
Trump’s time in office involved multiple erasures of LGBTQ+ civil liberties. This included banning trans people from serving in the US military in 2017, later overturned by his successor, Joe Biden.
A survey funded by the Department of Defense in 2020 found that two-thirds of active service people supported serving alongside transgender people. “He’s uncomfortable with anyone that’s different,” said Mary L.
