Former President’s Remarks Fuel Anti-Trans Fears and Hate
Former President Donald Trump has once again falsely claimed that children are undergoing transition-related surgeries during the school day, a statement that has caused concern among the LGBTQ+ community as reported by NBC News.
During a campaign rally in Wisconsin, a key battleground state, Trump spun a spurious allegation against schools. “Can you imagine you’re a parent and your son leaves the house, and you say, ‘Jimmy, I love you so much, go have a good day in school,’ and your son comes back with a brutal operation? Can you even imagine this? What the hell is wrong with our country?” Trump said on Saturday.
This is not the first time that Trump has stoked such fears. The previous weekend he made similar claims at a “Moms For Liberty” rally. When asked by one of the group’s co-founders about the “explosion in the number of children who identify as transgender,” Trump responded: “Your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation. The school decides what’s going to happen with your child.”
Despite Trump’s assertions, there is no evidence to support the claim that schools are performing gender transition surgeries on children without parental consent. NBC News quoted the president of the National Association of School Nurses, Kate King who said, “There is no way that anyone is doing surgery in a classroom in schools.” King added that parental permission is required for any treatment administered by school nursing staff including giving children non-prescription pain relievers like Advil.
