I was speaking to a family member just a month ahead of the 2024 election, and the topic of the Republican Party, specifically Trump himself, enacting harm against the LGBTQ community arose. I was met with the snarky retort of “what did Trump do to harm the queer community in his first term?” My response, although it could have easily been pages of text, was quick and to the point. I cited that he enacted more legislation and appointments that targeted the LGBTQ community than any other President in modern history. My presentation of facts was quickly dismissed.
But that discussion last fall brought a concern to the forefront of the multitude of concerns I had of another Trump Presidency. How quickly would Trump come after the LGBTQ community?
Unfortunately, it took us almost no time to find that out.
The answer was immediate. And worse, the damage was even greater than his first term. The LGBTQ community, including my daughter, were in the crosshairs of those in power. And we were quickly made aware, the firing squad wasn’t going to stop until nobody in that community remained standing.
We’re barely a month into Trump’s second term, and his orders have been plentiful already.
On Inauguration Day, one of the first executive orders Trump issued declared that the federal government would only recognize two sexes: male and female. It was a statement order, serving mainly to make clear the government’s archaic stance, without much tangible effect.
He moved on quickly though, issuing another series of orders attacking an already marginalized group who had fought so hard for any rights in the first place. Even his quest to remove any and all DEI initiatives, not just in government but in the private sector as well, also heavily impacted the LGBTQ community.
But, it was one letter in the spectrum that Trump seems to have really gone after to start 2025; the T. Transgender individuals were hit with a series of early executive orders.
Trump has acted quickly to send a message to transgender Americans, and that message is one of planned eradication.
He started with an executive order to ban federal funding for gender-affirming care to minors (anyone under the age of 19). The order included orders for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to publish a review within 90 days of existing literature on best practices for promoting the health of children with gender dysphoria.
Trump then issued an executive order directing the Department of Defense to formulate a new policy targeting transgender service members. The order even stated that “expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”
And this was before we even wrapped up January. In February he removed Title IX protection for transgender athletes through an executive order that bars trans women and girls from participating in women’s sports at both K-12 schools and colleges.
He then expanded this attack by announcing that transgender athletes would be barred from obtaining visas for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, eventually going further to ban them from obtaining visas for any sport or event, and permanently barring them from entering the country.
Many are now questioning what’s next? He’s been relentless in his first month, what do the next 47 hold?
Well, much of what is next is already telegraphed in Project 2025.
Although Trump frequently distanced himself from Project 2025 on the campaign trail, it has clearly been his playbook since being sworn in. In fact, Trump’s early orders follow Project 2025 so closely, it’s hard to separate Project 2025 from any separate initiative Trump claims as his own.
Let’s not be shocked he lied about Project 2025. Lying is something he’s done well. It wasn’t the first time and won’t be the last. But the point is, if he’s already deploying one initiative after another from the conservative manifesto, meaning we should brace for what is next.
Project 2025 calls on the Department of Justice (that Trump now rules with an iron fist) to defend the First Amendment right of those who would discriminate against LGBTQ+ people. Something that has also already been flirted with by some early executive orders.
Project 2025 also recommends the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reverse the focus on “‘LGBTQ+ equity,’ subsidizing single-motherhood, disincentivizing work, and penalizing marriage,’ replacing such policies with those encouraging marriage, work, motherhood, fatherhood, and nuclear families.”
The Project 2025 playbook laments the fact that family policies and programs under President Biden’s HHS are “fraught with agenda items focusing on ‘LGBTQ+ equity,’” making it clear that they intend to roll those agenda items back.
Project 2025 demands the abolishment of the Gender Policy Council, which it views as promoting abortion and the ‘new woke gender ideology.’ It also proposes “new structures and positions” in place of the Gender Policy Council, a new structure that would promote “life and strengthen the traditional family.”
If the attack on Title IX isn’t enough, Project 2025 also calls on the current administration to limit the application of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that Title VII’s sex discrimination protections applied to LGBTQ+ people.
And if USAID still was able to provide aid, Project 2025 declared that Trump issue orders that would prevent any of that aid from being used for transgender people.
And all of that is just the beginning of what the Trump administration intends to do at the expense of our LGBTQ neighbors and loved ones. It’s Project 2025, not Project 2025 through 2028. So although we can telegraph what’s ahead by what’s documented, there’s likely so much more we don’t know yet.
I can say, with near certainty, that the administration will not stop at the letter T. The far-right will not be satisfied until the rights of all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people are hiding their truth and suffering the consequences of a small vocal group that is afraid of change. Change that does not impact them at all.
And if you seem to be heartless enough to say, “who cares?” Then I ask who is next? Because it won’t stop there.
Let’s not overlook that Trump’s focus on eradicating entire groups of individuals comes at the expense of the main reasons people claim they voted for him. All of this is being done to the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and other minorities while we sit here with Trump gutting our economy and driving up the prices of the goods he campaigned on lowering the prices of.
The eradication of these communities is actually driving the economy into the gutter by pulling workers away from jobs, “DEI” products off shelves, and causing people to be afraid to even leave their house.
And although the economy is why so many claimed to vote for Trump, let’s be clear and remember that he did promise this too. This threat was sewn deeply into his campaign. So those that supported him who are now confused and dumbfounded by his actions have no ground.
But it’s not just about laws. Project 2025, and therefore the administration filled with its co-authors enacting the plan, told us why they want these changes.
Project 2025 states that society today includes “toxic normalization of transgenderism.” Going beyond framing laws and orders, and directly attacking a group of human beings in a governance guide.
But normalization of “transgenderism” isn’t toxic, it’s simply an extension of basic human rights to fellow Americans. It’s barely an effort to even just let someone else be. Being compassionate and sympathetic to those around you does not make you a good person. Being compassionate and sympathetic to those you do not see or know is what defines you.
And bluntly, 2025 is defining a number of people in ways they should be ashamed of. Most notably, Trump and those promoting MAGA hate.
Political Geekery 
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