Trump’s Christmas Greetings Are Transphobic

US President Donald Trump tied his Christmas wishes to a dig at political opponents on his Truth Social platform. “Merry Christmas to all, including the scum of the radical left, who are doing everything to destroy our country, but are failing badly,” Trump said on Wednesday from his private estate, Mar-a-Lago, in Florida, where he is spending the holiday. He added, “We no longer have open borders, no men in women’s sports, no transgender for all, and no weak law enforcement.” He claimed that the United States now has “the lowest crime rates in decades, no inflation,” and solid growth numbers. Trump has recently defended his policies in the face of growing discontent over the cost of living and has blamed President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. He repeatedly labels Democrats and political opponents as the “radical left.”

From Florida, Trump joined a slate of Christmas activities on Christmas Eve. He took part in NORAD’s annual Santa hotline, which allows children to check Santa’s current location. In this appearance he boasted about electoral victories and the appeal of coal, and warned of a “bad Santa” infiltrating the country. He also extended Christmas greetings to U.S. troops around the world, including those off the coast of Venezuela, where Washington is currently putting pressure on left-nationalist leader Nicolás Maduro both militarily and economically.

Transphobic Policy and Rhetoric Without End

Comments about “men in women’s sports” or “transgender for all” are staples of the Republican’s expansive speeches and messaging. At the same time, the second Trump administration, in its first year, barred recognition of transgender or nonbinary people on passports and visa applications, and led to decisions excluding transgender athletes from competing in gender-specific categories or banning transgender people from the military. Earlier, the administration halted funding for gender-affirming procedures for veterans and for federal and postal employees. The administration also pursued broader anti-queer measures and took positions against LGBTI rights abroad.

Shortly after taking office, Trump issued several decrees barring federal funds for gender-affirming care for minors. A judge initially blocked the move (Queer.de reported). In July, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced she had issued more than 20 subpoenas to clinics and practices offering such treatments: “Medical professionals and organizations that have mutilated children in service of a twisted ideology will be held to account by this Department of Justice.”

A few weeks ago, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that all hospitals would lose federal funding if they offered hormonal treatments or gender-affirming surgeries to youths, or prescribed puberty blockers (Queer.de reported). Under Medicaid and Medicare, such services would no longer be billable. Since then, 18 Democratic attorneys general and one governor have filed suit against the policy, arguing Kennedy lacked the legal authority. Leading medical associations in the United States, and even the World Health Organization, broadly agree that current treatment guidelines for adults and minors are evidence-based and necessary. A UC study estimates about 1.6 million transgender people live in the United States, more than 300,000 of whom are between 13 and 17 years old.