Donald Trump had recently finished a familiar riff about banning gender transition surgery for children when the former president, speaking to an audience of Evangelical voters, moved on to something new: a policy that would affect transgender adults.
“I will ban all taxpayer funding for sex or gender transitions at any age,” said Trump, receiving thunderous applause at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington last month. The Republican leader, who moments earlier had also pledged to reinstate a ban on transgender men and women serving in the military, paused for several seconds to soak in the crowd’s adulation.
It’s the kind of moment — and the type of policy — increasingly common on the GOP presidential campaign trail this year.
Red won the election in 2016: Abortions no longer a civil right nationwide.
Blue won my state in 2020 and 2022: Abortion a right again. (Staewide)
Elections do have impact. Republicans won the election in 2016, so we see their will writ large. Vote, vote, vote, or it will only ever get worse.