On Friday, former President Donald Trump appeared at a Moms for Liberty conference in Washington, D.C. where he expressed extremist views on trans people that are wildly divorced from reality. He made numerous remarks that highlight both his record as an anti-trans figurehead and the relationship he has to those orchestrating Project 2025. The conference, featuring discussions between Trump and Moms for Liberty founder Tiffany Justice, included 20 minutes of discussion relating to transgender issues.
It was in this section that Trump made one of the most outlandish claims on transgender issues in recent history: “But uh, the transgender thing is an incredible thing… your kid goes to school & comes home a few days later with an operation the school decides what’s going to happen with your child & you many of these childs [sic] 15 years later say ‘what the hell happened, who did this to me?’”
See the video here:
This statement has no basis in reality — no school in the United States, or anywhere in the world, has authorized gender-affirming surgery on a child without the parent’s consent.
The discussion turned to transgender issues when Tiffany Justice suddenly brought up the topic, initially referencing Elon Musk’s recent interview with Jordan Peterson, in which Musk ranted about the “woke mind virus” supposedly affecting his trans daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson. Justice expressed agreement with Musk’s remarks. Wilson, however, provided detailed rebuttals on her Threads account, pointing out how Musk’s statements were inaccurate and often ignored the truth. No reference was made to her careful rebuttals.
Then, the conversation abruptly shifted to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz enacting the “trans refugee” bill, which guarantees the state as a safe haven for transgender people across the country. Trump briefly responded, saying, “that’s crazy,” before Justice continued, raising concerns about “an explosion in the number of people identifying as transgender” and referring to the “born in the wrong body” claim as “abusive.”
This prompted further discussion, with Trump comparing school boards to “dictatorships” and describing situations where parents are “screaming for the life of their child,” attributing these conflicts to “transgender” and other issues. During the interview, Justice expressed concerns about banning the government from funding transgender surgeries, to which Trump responded casually, “Well, you can do everything. [The] President has such power.”
During the talk, Trump also targeted boxer and Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif, who has been incorrectly labeled as transgender by right-wing media despite statements from the International Olympic Committee, which allows sports to restrict trans women from participation, confirming that she is cisgender. Trump repeated the false claim by stating that Khelif was “a person who has transitioned” and “transgendered.” He said, “I wouldn’t want to fight this person. But… [she] transitioned and met certain qualifications… So [Italian boxer Angela Carini is] fighting this person that transgendered, it was like she got hit by a horse.”
“Even with all that, they won’t change [trans inclusion]. Everyone is afraid to talk about it,” Trump said. Justice replied, “not me,” receiving praise from Trump and the audience.
Trump continued his anti-trans attacks, calling trans inclusion in sports “very demeaning to women…It’s a very sad thing,” he continued, before shifting the conversation to criticize presidential candidate Kamala Harris for being “totally in favor [of trans people.” Trump then attacked Harris’ climate record and offered to send her a Make America Great Again hat.
Justice followed up by asking Trump for advice on how moms can run for office, likely referencing the widespread failures their political candidates have faced across the country, with 70% of their candidates losing in elections.
This increasingly extreme perspective on transgender issues comes as Trump’s campaign faces declining poll numbers, prompting him to attempt to reignite support by targeting trans people. Although his intensified focus on this issue is a recent phenomenon, Trump has consistently approached transgender issues with hostility. His administration implemented several policies targeting trans people, including rolling back anti-discrimination protections for homeless trans individuals, removing safeguards that ensured gender-affirming care coverage by health insurance, and opposing non-discrimination protections across various areas. Additionally, his administration attempted to erase trans people from legal recognition, forced imprisoned trans individuals to be housed according to their sex assigned at birth, undermined policies combating HIV/AIDS, and enacted a blanket ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military.
This conference underscores Trump’s ties to Project 2025, a plan to impose extreme restrictions on gender-affirming care, including a total ban for minors, cutting federal funding, and targeting adult care. Moms for Liberty supports Project 2025 and is on its advisory board. Despite denying involvement, Trump has endorsed a similar plan, Agenda 47, which mirrors many Project 2025 policies: banning gender-affirming care for minors, enforcing bathroom restrictions for trans kids, cutting diversity program funding, and blocking federal coverage for trans healthcare. This aligns with Republican efforts to ban gender-affirming care for all trans people, despite these policies being deeply unpopular nationwide.
This piece was republished with permission from Erin In The Morning.
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