Trump's War on Gay, Lesbian, and Trans People

[justaprogressive]

When Donald Trump ran for president last year, he signaled that he would not be far-right on social issues. He tried to defuse the issue of abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade by saying that it was now up to the states, as if this preserved rights. He refused to say whether he personally opposed abortion.

And on LGBTQ rights, the Republican platform, at Trump’s request, did not propose ending marriage equality. All of this was a classic Trump feint.

Trump’s administration has worked with state officials on vigilante laws intended to punish people who seek reproductive care out of state. He has redoubled the attempt to deny federal funds to Planned Parenthood. Trump’s appointees keep trying to ban medications that induce abortion, the safest and most widespread method.

And the attack on gay and trans people keeps escalating. On Inauguration Day, Trump declared that “only two genders,” male and female, would be recognized going forward by the federal government. He signed an executive order to that effect within hours of being sworn in.

Trump has used supposed DEI excesses to attack gay and lesbian people per se, much as he has used the DEI ruse to purge Black people from senior posts. He has banned trans people from serving in the armed forces. Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth changed the name of the US Navy ship named for Harvey Milk, the gay San Francisco mayor who was gunned down in his office in 1978. Milk was a navy veteran.

https://prospect.org/civil-rights/2025-07-01-trump-lgbt-rights-scott-bessent/

[Fiendish Thingy]

1. I've heard many experts say that, in order for Dems to win future elections, they must abandon the LGBT community

These sensible centrists say Dems can only win if they campaign on kitchen table issues like jobs and inflation, and shouldn’t focus on the basic human rights everyone is entitled to.

I say fuck that shit.

[AZJonnie]

2. Campaigning for "universal basic human rights regardless of (insert list here)" is probably more politically savvy

than explicitly and pointedly campaigning for basic human rights for any one group that doesn't necessarily enjoy them ATM, in my estimation, because there are actually many groups that do not, and we want all their votes. I think back to a time not that long ago when Dems started referring to gay rights as 'civil rights', and this did not go over very well in some important quarters, so you don't hear Democrats doing that anymore. Just an example of the 'balance' that's politically important to strike.

The works you actually do in office are more important than stump speeches and platforms, and you will not be able to get nearly as many good works towards the LGBTQ+ cause done if you never actually win your election. So, of course, as Democrats go through their terms and participate in legislation, I expect them to absolutely support LGBTQ+ empowerment and equal rights under the law, but that's a little bit separate in my mind from 'what they campaign on' if that makes sense?

[W_HAMILTON]

3. Is it """centrists""" saying that -- or Bernie Sanders?

Bernie Sanders criticised for saying ‘identity politics’ prevents debate on important issues

...

The veteran Vermont senator accused the “liberal elite” in America of using the inclusion of marginalised communities, such as Black or LGBTQ+ people, as a way to make issues seem difficult to understand.

“We get to this thing called ‘identity politics’, you’re Black, you’re tremendous, you’re wonderful. You’re gay, you’re the greatest thing on Earth, rather than say: what do you stand for?” the former Democrat, who now sits as an independent, said.

...

“Is every gay person brilliant or wonderful or great? No, of course not, everyone’s a human being. The issue is: what do you stand for? And that gets you back to the issue we discussed earlier: class politics.“

Sanders said discussion of these topics, especially among Democrats, helped ignore the real question, which is: which side are you on?

“Are you going to stand with working families?” he asked. “Are you going to raise the minimum wage to a living wage? Are you going to fight to guarantee healthcare for all people, or not? Are you going to demand that the wealthiest people [pay] their fair share of taxes, or not?

“Those are the issues. No one cares what colour you are or what your gender is.”

Taken from: https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/05/22/bernie-sanders-podcast-identity-politics/

[Fiendish Thingy]

4. It is centrists, and the consultants they employ

I don’t hear anyone on the left, save for Sanders, advising against supporting the LGBT community.

Also, the centrists who want to abandon the LGBT community do not favor raising the minimum wage, universal healthcare, or raising taxes on the wealthiest as Sanders does. They seek “bipartisan compromise”, which, because of the filibuster, will never happen unless it is on the Republicans’ terms.

[W_HAMILTON]

6. Not true. It sounds like you've been listening to Sanders rail against """the Establishment."""

The vast majority of Democrats support all of those things. Hell, the Democratic House already passed a minimum wage increase, but Republicans refused to take it up in the Senate. When Democrats controlled both chambers, it was brought up again, and the vast majority of Democrats voted for it, but a small handful did not -- remember former progressive Sinema's little curtsy? -- and it failed.

PS - That news article I linked came from a podcast interview Sanders was doing with an alt right bro type. I guess ALL SIDES think they can win over Republicans, but fact of the matter is, at the end of the day, Republicans will vote for Republicans.

[Fiendish Thingy]

7. The vast majority of Americans support those policies

But not all Dem politicians do.

[Johonny]

5. Trans issues poll at really bigoted levels

Unfortunately, the hatred of the LBGTQ community in America is heavy. And worse, people voted for that over their own well being. It is rather frightening

[Johnny2X2X]

8. I don't recall any Dems saying abandon the LGTBQ community

I think not making the cause of trans people so front and center was the ask. And whether you agree with that idea or not, doing whatever it took to win was the only way to protect the LGTBQ from the onslaught they currently face. Dems are no powerless to help because they lost.