New data illustrates devastating impact of Trump administration on LGBTQ+ Americans
Trump joined by women athletes signs the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order on February 5, 2025 in Washington, DC. The executive order prohibits transgender women from competing in women’s sports and is the third order he has signed that targets transgender people. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Trump joined by women athletes signs the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order on February 5, 2025 in Washington, DC. The executive order prohibits transgender women from competing in women’s sports and is the third order he has signed that targets transgender people. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
LGBTQ+ Americans are going back in the closet, as a new survey reveals people believe queer acceptance has decreased under the second Trump administration.
According to research carried out in the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey, entitled ‘One Year In: LGBTQ+ Americans Under the Trump Administration‘, three in ten (29.7 per cent) LGBTQ+ adults believe acceptance of LGBTQ+ people has decreased in the last year while nearly half (47.5 per cent) report being less out somewhere in their lives during the last 12 months.
People being less out was reported as including workplaces (26.5 per cent), healthcare (25.4 per cent), and public spaces (28.3 per cent).
The survey, which is now in its 18th year, analysed responses from 15,000 adults aged 18 and older in the United States, including nearly 10,000 LGBTQ+ adults and 5,000 non-LGBTQ+ adults. The research seeks to document the experiences of LGBTQ+ folks since Trump returned to office for his second term in January 2025.
Alongside declining acceptance and decreased outness, the report also found more than half of LGBTQ+ adults (51.1 per cent) feel they are less visible than a year ago. Within this, nearly half of LGBTQ+ parents with school-aged children surveyed (40.1 per cent) said they are less visible at schools – the highest of all environments measured by the HRC.
In 2025 alone, the Trump administration has enacted 225 executive orders aimed at reshaping the government and country, with many of those attacking the rights of LGBTQ+ people, trans people in particular.
These orders have included proclaiming the official policy of the US is that there are “only two sexes”, banning transgender people from serving in the military, restricting gender-affirming healthcare for trans youngsters under the age 19 and barring trans women and girls from female sports.
Trump has also moved to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programmes across the government and in the military. This move, coupled by campaigning by anti-woke MAGA activist Robby Starbuck, has seen several big name US businesses – including Walmart, Target, Ford, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson and Jack Daniel’s – drop their DEI policies, programmes and targets. This attack on DEI is also having a direct influence on entire industries in the US and other countries, such as the book industry, as well as the third sector.
The research echoed this, with four in ten adult workers (39.1 per cent) reporting that their employer made at least one DEI-related change during the first year of Trump’s second term. Employees at businesses that rolled back DEI practices were more than twice as likely to report experiencing stigma, bias, and discrimination compared to those at organisations which kept their DEI practices the same (54.2 per cent vs 24.9 per cent).
Further to this, LGBTQ+ adults were found to be twice as likely to say their financial situation worsened over the past 12 months, when compared with non-LGBTQ+ adults, with over a third (35.9 per cent) of LGBTQ+ adults say federal policies enacted since January 2025 have made it more difficult for them to find a job.
“We need and deserve leaders that treat everyone with dignity, give everyone the chance to thrive, and advance equality for all,” said Human Right’s Campaign President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
“But the right wing, uninterested in and incapable of solving the issues that people are facing, has spent years trying to use LGBTQ+ people as a wedge, pouring millions into anti-trans attacks to scapegoat our community and bully our allies into silence. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that silence is not the answer.
“This messaging playbook is about giving those allies the tools to stop playing defense and lead with conviction. To be unapologetically pro-equality. And to win elections. Just as they did in states like Virginia and New Jersey last November, voters are going to reject anti-trans fear mongering in the midterms and send a clear message: equality wins.”
“Trump and his allies made no secret about their plans; they laid it out for all to see in Project 2025,” Robinson continued.
“Over the past year, his Administration has pushed forward efforts to eliminate civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ Americans—with funding cuts, regulatory changes, and bullying from the bully pulpit. Now, LGBTQ+ Americans are deeply hurting. Still, for all the pain Trump has caused, the LGBTQ+ community’s resilience drives our power.
“Together, we continue to fight for a future in which everyone has the freedom to be who they are. I, for one, believe that, together, we will come through this stronger, more united, and victorious.”
