Pre-presidency
February 2000
In an interview with The Advocate, Trump says,“I think the institution of marriage should be between a man and a woman, but amending the Civil Rights Act would grant the same protection to gay people that we give to other Americans — it’s only fair.” (via CNN)
April, 2012
Miss Universe Canada disqualifies trans contestant Jenna Talackova after saying she had “falsified her application when she said she was born female.”
Trump, then the owner of Miss Universe, intervenes and reinstates Talackova. He tells Fox News, “It has become a hot subject. It is being talked about all over the world right now – this is a young woman who, according to the laws of Canada and according to the laws of the United States, is allowed to enter the pageant system.”
November 2013
“I think I’m evolving, and I think I’m a very fair person, but I have been for traditional marriage. I am for traditional marriage, I am for a marriage between a man and a woman.”
Trump tells MSNBC, “My stance right now is traditional marriage,” but adds his views could be evolving.
Jan. 31, 2016
Trump says he would strongly consider appointing Supreme Court Justices who would reverse the previous marriage equality decision,“It has been ruled upon. It has been there. If I’m elected I would be very strong in putting certain judges on the bench that I think maybe could change things.” (via NBC Nightly News)
April 26, 2016
Trump says, “transgender people should use whichever bathroom they prefer and that he is opposed to a North Carolina bill restricting access.”
June 14, 2016
Trump tweets a thank you message to the LGBTQIA+ community and says he will “fight for [them].”
July 16, 2016
Mike Pence is named as Trump’s running mate.
On his campaign website, Pence opposes marriage equality and the use of federal money for organisations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviours that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus. He states, “Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behaviour.” The statement is interpreted by many as an endorsement of conversion therapy.
Nov. 18, 2016
Trump nominates Jeff Sessions for the United States attorney general. Sessions has a history of anti-LGBTQIA+ stances; including vehemently opposing marriage equality, voting against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and opposing the expansion of hate crime legislation to include crimes motivated by someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
November 23, 2016
Trump appoints Betsy DeVos to be the Education Secretary. She rescinds Obama-era guidelines on Title IX preventing discrimination against students on the basis of gender identity and refuses to investigate bathroom access complaints from trans students.
Presidency
March 24, 2017
Trump appoints Roger Severino as Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights. Severino rolls back multiple protections for LGBTQIA+ people and allows faith-based foster care and adoption agencies to continue getting taxpayer funding even if they exclude LGBTQIA+ families and others from their services.
July 26, 2017
Trump tweets that he will ban trans people from serving in the US military. He claims to have consulted with his generals and military experts.
May 8, 2018
Under Trump, the Bureau of Prisons rolls back Obama-era protections for incarcerated trans people. This change states that biological sex rather than gender identity should be used to place prisoners.
Feb. 20, 2020
Trump appoints Richard Grenell as acting director of National Intelligence, making him the first openly gay person to be appointed to a cabinet-level position.
July 1, 2020
Under Trump, the Department of Housing and Urban Development creates a new rule allowing homeless shelters to turn away trans people trying to access services that align with their gender identity.
Sept. 27, 2020
Trump nominates Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
For decades Coney Barrett has been part of the secretive ‘People of Praise’ faith group, which is affiliated with Trinity School Inc. This group of christian schools effectively bar children of same-sex parents. She has had at least five paid speaking engagements for the Alliance Defending Freedom. The alliance is an anti-LGBTQIA+ hate group designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Post-presidency
April 2022
The Heritage Foundation launches Project 2025, produced by 140 former Trump staffers. The 920-page document says the following terms must be banned from all federal regulations: sexual orientation, gender identity, diversity, equity and inclusion, gender, gender equity, gender awareness, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health and reproductive rights. It also equates any discussion of trans issues with pornography, and advocates a ban on pornography and imprisonment for anyone responsible for producing it.
Trump praised the project in an appearance before the Heritage Foundation in 2022. Realising in July 2024 that it was a political liability, he claimed that he had “no idea who was behind it.”
“On Day 1, I will sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school pushing … transgender insanity and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content onto our children.”
January 2023
Trump releases a campaign video that states if elected president, “I will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the United States government are male and female, and they are assigned at birth … No serious country should be telling its children that they were born with the wrong gender, a concept that was never heard of in all of human history, nobody’s ever heard of this, what’s happening today.”
March 26, 2023
In his first presidential campaign rally, Trump vows to crack down on “transgender insanity” and stop policies promoting “the disfigurement of our youth.”
May 10, 2024
If re-elected, Trump says he would rescind Title IX protections for trans students on day one of his presidency. These protections were reinstated by Biden in April 2024.
