On July 26 President Donald Trump took to Twitter to make a controversial announcement about the ban of transgender individuals from the military.
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
….Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
….victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
The ban that was lifted by the Obama administration is back in action and wildly contradicts Trump’s previous promises to act as an ally and advocate for the LGBQT community. High-profile transgender activist Caitlyn Jenner was said to be working behind the scenes with the president.
The former Olympian turned reality star has been a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, advocating for his presidency and giving him her vote. After his announcement, Jenner took to Twitter to express her confusion and anger about the new policy, attaching a previous tweet Trump made about his promise to “fight for” the LGBT community.
There are 15,000 patriotic transgender Americans in the US military fighting for all of us. What happened to your promise to fight for them? https://t.co/WzjypVC8Sr
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) July 26, 2017
In the past Jenner has received major backlash over her support for Trump, and now Twitter is exploding with “I told you so” and “you played yourself” responses.
You didn’t just vote for him. You used your public platform to rally support for him. Now he legislates against us. What now?
— Justin Mikita (@JustinMikita) July 26, 2017
Your blind ignorance is on you. Trump has never shown any compassion to the #LGBTQ community. You sold out that community by voting for him.
— Lenny Jacobson (@Lennyjacobson) July 26, 2017
— Alec Mapa (@AlecMapa) July 26, 2017
It is worth nothing a 2016 Rand Corp. study commissioned by the Department of Defense indicated that the “the costs of gender transition–related health care treatment are relatively low,” and noted that “previous integration efforts and the experiences of foreign militaries indicate a minimal likely impact on force readiness.”