UPDATE: Caitlyn Jenner provided an official statement regarding President Trump’s transgender military ban announcement. Citing the service members of the transgender community have provided for the U.S., Jenner slammed the move as discriminatory and counter-intuitive.
“President Donald Trump tweeted this morning that transgender service members will no longer be allowed to serve “in any capacity” in the U.S. military. Studies estimate there are as many as 15,000 transgender people already serving this country – and for those brave people fighting for our nation, Trump’s early morning tweets must be devastating. I believe every American should be outraged by the disrespect shown to those people wearing our country’s uniform. Furthermore, this half-baked idea puts all of our service members in harm’s way. Does President Trump intend to just pull 15,000 people out of every critical position to which they are currently assigned? That would disrupt core military missions around the world and needlessly endanger our troops.”
Jenner says she’s confident that the trans community will persevere through actions like these. She won’t side with Trump in that battle.
“America’s 15,000 trans service members and 134,000 veterans are much braver than you, Mr. Trump; my allegiance is with them and our country, not you,” she wrote.
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After President Trump’s unilateral announcement that transgender people would no longer be allowed to serve in the U.S. military, criticism has been coming from all directions — including from Republicans in Congress and a former Navy SEAL. Now one of Trump’s most prominent LGBT supporters, Caitlyn Jenner, who is considering a run for Senate, is blasting the President for his decision as well.
Quote-retweeting something President Trump wrote in support of the LGBT community while still a candidate, Jenner noted the 15,000 transgender Americans currently serving in the military and asked, “What happened to your promise to fight for them?”
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
Jenner’s statement came after being targeted herself throughout Wednesday morning for her past support of Trump, including working with the administration on LGBT rights issues.
In April, Jenner appeared on 20/20 and discussed the administration’s previous attacks on the LGBT community and touched on transgender military personnel.
“Yes, I did vote for Trump but here’s the deal breaker with the Republican party … you mess with my community, you do the wrong thing with our community, you don’t give us equality and a fair shot, I’m coming after you.
“When it comes to all equality issues, for the entire LGBT community, what we need is federal guidance. Just like the previous administration said that it was OK to serve as a trans person in the military. We have frontline people, OK? I’m talking Marines, trans guys, on the frontline, fighting for our country. I’m trying to get, especially the Republican party, to make a change.”
The Daily Beast reported Wednesday that the transgender military ban was pushed by the far-right religious branch of the Trump administration, so it’ll be interesting to see if more responses by socially liberal conservatives emerge.
(Via San Jose Mercury News)