Washington, DC—This morning, President Donald J. Trump tweeted an egregious attack from his personal Twitter account on transgender service members. Currently, about 15,000 transgender people serve honorably in the U.S. armed services, and President Trump is attempting to make policy through Twitter that would overturn the current military policy. In response, National Center for Transgender Equality Executive Director Mara Keisling offers the following statement:
“This is worse than don’t ask don’t tell, this is don’t serve, don’t serve. This is an appalling attack on our service members; it is about bigotry rather than military readiness, reason or science. It is indefensible and cannot stand. The President wants to discard thousands of trained and skilled troops who are already serving honorably and done nothing but be honest about who they are. To turn away qualified recruits simply because of who they are is a shameful way to show our country's gratitude to the people who serve our country.”
