US President Donald Trump, presently caterwauling through a shock second term, deals largely in contradictions and uncertain agendas. With the 2024 election bolstered by a roaring mandate of “Promises made, promises kept,” there is plenty within his second sitting in the Oval Office that fails to meet expectations. His promise to release the Epstein files among them.
However, Trump’s fervour for restricting the rights of the LGBTQ+ populace has remained alarmingly consistent. Recent news breaks that the US Supreme Court has been officially asked to overturn its 2015 ruling that affords same-sex couples the marriage rights equally afforded to heterosexual pairings.
While the inquiry has not been officially led by White House actions, it is worth noting the Supreme Court – as well as the House of Representatives and the present administration – is held by Republican majority. Therefore, even if Trump has not directly given order to begin motions that would repeal same-sex marriage rights, it has been a decision driven by the party at which he sits as bigoted figurehead.
These regressive notes from within the Trump administration carry much the same tune as other lines to which Americans have been made privy since The Donald returned to the land of the free’s highest office.
His federal budget cuts, for one, have resulted in the dissolution of specialised services for LGBTQ+ youth through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which shut down in July. In addition, his measures have driven trans visibility back decades with mandates limiting passports to only recognise a citizen’s birth-assigned sex; as well as the barring of transgender citizens from serving in the military.
Adding further fuel to the fire is renewed anti-trans zeal in the wake of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk’s assassination, whose killer reportedly had a romantic partner in the process of transitioning genders. Its repercussions have driven a Justice Department proposal that aims to bar trans people from their Second Amendment right to own firearms, under the guise of the trans identity representing a form of mental illness.
Further, in a move that would affect the entire spectrum of the queer community, Trump reportedly “would have no problem” with banning the Pride flag. When queried as to whether LGBTQ+ activists could be labelled ‘domestic terrorists’, Trump is said to have agreed.
If, then – as notoriously stated in his inaugural address as POTUS #47 earlier this year, “there will be two genders,” – perhaps this qualifies as just about the only of his promises made and promises kept.
– Liam Heitmann-Ryce-LeMercier
