Fact Check: Trump Suggests Transgender 'Drugs' Fueled Nashville Shooter
Donald Trump suggested that clinical treatment for gender transitioning could have played a role in the Nashville killings.The ClaimA tweet posted Wednesday by Jack Posobiec, which was viewed more than 539,000 times, said: "BREAKING: Trump praises Nashville police response, says the shooter's aggression was caused by gender hormone treatments and that's why he banned trans in the military."In an attached clip, Trump said: "You know, then you have the unusual case yesterday of what happened with this person and the anger that was caused, that's something...I banned it in the military because [of] the drugs.
The amount of drugs they have to take is so incredible."The FactsIt was not clear at first what Trump was referring to when he said something was "banned in the military" while he was president.However, in the context of the broader point he was making in the clip about school shootings and the speculation surrounding the shooter, it appears he was talking about the use of hormone treatments for clinical transitions, as Posobiec said.Trump's comment about "banning it" in the military appears to refer to his decision to ban transgender people from serving in the military.Trump provided no evidence that hormone treatments could affect violent tendencies or other behaviors, and any claim that the Nashville shooter was taking drugs is unsubstantiated.
Furthermore, media reports that Audrey Hale, 28, was transgender were based on a police statement and the testimony of an unnamed source.
It is not clear how these assertions originated or what material they were based on.A statement Monday from the Trans Journalists Association said that it was "unclear how the police came to that determination." The association's guidance.
