Trump's campaign centred on economic and immigration issues but also focused on making progressive policies around transgender healthcare a major election theme. A third of the television ad budget was allocated to commercials with an anti-trans message, aimed at persuading moderate suburban voters in large cities.
Regardless of what ultimately motivated voters, LGBTQ+ organisations warned during the campaign about the potential rollback of LGBTQ+ rights under a second Trump term. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) stated, “As president, Donald Trump led a virulently anti-LGBTQ+ administration, banning brave transgender servicemembers from the military and advocating for rollbacks to non-discrimination protections.”
Last year, Trump openly criticised Biden’s transgender policies, calling them “shameful” and “ridiculous” and referring to gender-affirming care as “mutilating children.” In a four-minute video, he proposed a law to define only two genders, male and female, and called trans identities a “radical left invention.”
Trump’s campaign plans, along with those of his Republican allies, are also raising concerns. An increasing number of Republican-led states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, restricted drag performances to audiences 18 and over, and allowed teachers who discuss LGBTQ+ topics to be fired.
In “Project 2025,” a document from a conservative think tank seen as a guide for Trump’s administration, the importance of a family led by a man and a woman is emphasised. The HRC describes it as a “wrecking ball” for LGBTQ+ rights, suggesting that same-sex marriage could be relegated to a second-class status by giving same-sex couples fewer rights than heterosexual ones. Additionally, protections against discrimination for LGBTQ+ individuals could be rolled back according to this plan.
From 2016 to 2020, Trump served as President of the United States. During his tenure, LGBTQ+ policies were scaled back, transgender individuals were barred from the military, HIV/AIDS medication funding was cut, and anti-LGBTQ+ judges were appointed to the Supreme Court. LGBTQ+ organisations now worry that the Supreme Court, as with abortion rights, might overturn the national right to same-sex marriage.
