Donald Trump’s White House speech targets transgender community… again
President Donald Trump’s White House address targets trans people. (Saul Loeb/Getty)
US President Donald Trump has once again targeted the transgender community in his latest White House address speech.
On Thursday (16 July), Trump streamed his speech, rather than airing it on primary networks. Speaking from the East Room of the White House, he leaned on conspiracy theories and continued to seemingly try to undermine democracy.
Trump’s rambling speech opened with a doubling down on his push for trans exclusion.
He said: “We had transgender for everybody, men in women’s sports, crime ravaging our cities, and the whole world was laughing at us as a nation. But not anymore.
“Two years ago, our country was dead. Now, we are the hottest country anywhere in the world. America is respected like we have never been respected before.”
Trump’s reference to “men in women’s sports” refers to his barring of trans women from competing in women’s sports.
‘Congress must pass the SAVE America Act’
The talking point of trans people in sport has been a consistent conversation Trump returns to. It has had a significant impact. For instance, the US Supreme Court allowed states to ban transgender girls and women from participating in female school sports.
Trump’s administration has also faced scrutiny over LGBTQ+ policy. This includes a Justice Department investigation into Illinois school districts over LGBTQ+ lessons and a proposal to roll back LGBTQ+ housing protections.
Elsewhere in his White House address, the president continued to broadcast theories about voter fraud. He also claimed that China had hacked the US election and had sought to pay journalists to write false stories about him.
Trump reiterated the need for his SAVE America Act, which would install bureaucratic hurdles for millions of eligible voters. “Congress must pass the SAVE America Act,” he demanded.
Members of the trans community would be targeted by the SAVE America Act. Particularly, those whose documents often don’t align with their presented gender identity would be impacted.
Advocates for Trans Equality, the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, and The Trevor Project pushed back. The groups all denounce the SAVE Act, calling it “a blatant attempt to steal the fundamental right to vote.”
In his speech, Trump claimed: “Our elections were left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen, and the trust of the American people was lost. This cannot be allowed to continue.”
He concluded: “To all Americans, I ask you to pick up your phone tomorrow, call your Representatives in the House and Senate and demand that they pass the SAVE America Act without delay.
“Together, we will restore faith and confidence in our country, and we will be bigger, better and stronger than ever before.”
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