‘All this does is highlight the hypocrisy of those on the right who advocate for free speech while simultaneously seeking to suppress the expression of others.’

Yesterday, Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States. 

Within his first 24 hours back in office, he has taken many alarming actions: pardoning all those who participated in the riot on the Capitol on 6 January 2021, and withdrawing the US from the World Health Organisation and the Paris Agreement. 

He has also suspended America’s refugee resettlement programme, leaving thousands of Afghans stranded, and launched yet more attacks on LGBTQ+ rights.

On LGBTQ+ rights, Trump said: “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female”.

The executive order states: “Agencies will cease pretending that men can be women and women can be men when enforcing laws that protect against sex discrimination”.

The order also says it will end “the forced recitation of preferred pronouns”.

He has also issued an executive order to revoke federal Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) requirements after attacking DEI policies throughout his election campaign. 

In response, Meta and Amazon have announced they will abandon their DEI policies.

This comes just weeks after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the platform will stop independent fact-checking. 

In a statement, Thomas Willett and Matthew Blackwood, the co-directors of UK-based LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation Equality Amplified, said: “Trump’s claim that there are “only two genders” isn’t just factually wrong, it’s deeply damaging. It erases the experiences and identities of millions of people who are transgender, non-binary, or gender diverse. 

“These kinds of statements fuel stigma and discrimination, making life harder for those who already face significant barriers in society. The real danger is that this rhetoric encourages bigotry and justifies harmful policies.”

They added: “When someone in power promotes this narrow view, it can lead to fewer protections for gender-diverse people in schools, workplaces, healthcare, and everyday life. Words like his don’t exist in a vacuum; they embolden others to act on prejudice. 

“We’re living in a time when we should embrace diversity and build a society where everyone feels seen, valued, and safe.”

“Despite his attempts, Trump cannot legislate people out of existence. Trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people always have and will continue to exist. 

“All this does is highlight the hypocrisy of those on the right who advocate for free speech while simultaneously seeking to suppress the expression of others.”

Simon Blake, CEO of Stonewall, said: “It is deeply troubling that one of the US President’s first actions upon taking office was to deny the existence of marginalised people, and attempt to curtail their rights. To suggest that a group of people don’t have the right to exist has alarming historical parallels.”

Blake added: “This Executive Order will leave a vulnerable group of people open to further harassment, discrimination, and abuse in daily life. It comes as the new US administration announced a roll back of federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, actively abandoning principles of workplace inclusion. There are many urgent global challenges from violent conflicts to climate change and yet the new US Government is seemingly more focused on an agenda that will spread hate and fear. 

“Hard won rights must be continually defended. We will continue to work with our US partners to advocate for and support LGBTQ+ people concerned by the rhetoric and actions of the new administration.”

American LGBTQ advocacy organisation GLAAD found that Trump has verbally and politically attacked LGBTQ+ people at least 225 times since his last presidency.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

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