The LGBT during President Trump’s 100 days
President Donald Trump’s 100 days in office just passed last April 30, 2017, and it wasn’t what most of his voters hoped it would be with his trust ratings plunging monumentally low.
Even President Trump was first to admit that he didn’t think that being the leader of this first world country would be such hard work.
“I loved my previous life. I had so many things going,” Trump told Reuters in an interview. “This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.”
Still, there wasn’t a community more wary after Trump’s 100 days than the LGBT community. This milestone saw a number of executive orders signed than any president in history in their first 100 days.
Unfortunately, a lot of these executive orders had to do with repealing the protections former President Barack Obama had put into place for the LGBT.
A failing grade for Trump’s 100 days
For these retractions, the LGBT advocates gave Trump a failing grade in his first 100 days in office.
Already worried of a Trump presidency prior to his election, the LGBT activists had already sounded out the clarion call of what it would be to have Trump as the leader of the US.
This despite assurances from his camp that Trump is the gay-friendliest president during his inauguration last January 20, 2017.
To quote the White House, Trump is “respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights.” After 100 days, Trump was anything but respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights.
Anti-LGBT appointments
To show how “supportive” Trump was of the LGBT, he took in known anti-LGBT characters in the political hemisphere.
First and foremost is his vice president, Mike Pence, whose anti-LGBT reputation is on public record with his favoring of conversion therapy and Christian views of same-sex couples.
There was also the other Christian fanatic, Betty DeVos, who was appointed as Education Secretary.
“We support marriage between one man and one woman because that is the way God set it up,” DeVos said during a Michigan Republican Convention.
Then there’s Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who thinks “LGBT people don’t deserve extra rights,” and calls same-sex marriage as a Marxist plot comparable to bestiality.
The bathroom issue on Trump’s second month
A month after taking oath and promising to defend the rights of the LGBT, Trump pulled the plug on the protection of trans students to use the bathroom of their choice.
Under Obama, it had become federally lawful for trans students to use the bathroom they’re comfortable with. Trump repealed this order and said that each state should decide on their own whether they will allow this.
This was one of the first moves Trump made against the LGBT.
Trump targets LGBT workers in government
Halfway into his presidency, he repealed another Obama executive order that safeguards the position of LGBT persons in the federal government.
While he kept the order that federal contractors shouldn’t discriminate based on sexual orientation, it’s become unnecessary for them to prove that this order is being implemented.
It was also discovered that the Department of Health and Human Services had deleted questions on sexual orientation in the National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants (NSOAAP).
Another discovery was Trump’s plan to cut the funding for HIV/AIDS prevention projects.
After Trump’s 100 days
A week into May, Trump signed another executive order, this time allowing religious organizations and church to get involved in politics.
With this “religious freedom” order– an executive order on religious liberty– heaven only knows how we’ll fare with the super religious given so much power.