Donald Trump Posts Transgender Edict That Angers Conservatives  And Then Changes It

During his second term, the president has made policies targeting transgender people one of his main political focuses. But recently he faced strong criticism from people on his own side after posting something online that seemed to send a very different message than what they expected.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump posted a message on Truth Social promoting the proposed Save America Act. This bill is mainly about requiring voter ID on election day, which Republicans say is needed to deal with what they claim is widespread voter fraud, although those claims have not been proven.

Inside the list of points he shared about the bill, one line caught a lot of attention. It said there should be “no transgender surgery for children without the express written approval of the parents.” That wording quickly caused controversy because many conservatives who strongly oppose transgender medical care for minors believed the statement sounded like it allowed such surgeries as long as parents agreed.

One of the loudest critics was Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Republican congresswoman who used to be a strong supporter of Trump but has since become one of his critics. She posted a screenshot of the original message before it was edited and reacted angrily. She claimed the statement meant the president was now supporting transgender surgeries for children if their parents gave permission. In a series of posts, she said she was shocked and furious, calling the idea immoral and accusing the president of approving something she believes is completely wrong.

Greene also pointed out that the U.S. House of Representatives had previously passed her bill called the Protect Children’s Innocence Act. That bill would make it a serious crime to perform gender-transition procedures on anyone under 18, even if the parents agreed. Because of that, she argued that Trump’s wording directly went against the approach she and other conservatives have been pushing.

Right-wing commentator Matt Walsh also criticized the statement. He argued that the issue should not be about whether parents approve or not. According to him, the procedure itself is wrong in every case, so parental consent does not change anything.

After the backlash started spreading online, the wording in Trump’s post was changed. The line was edited to simply say “no transgender surgery for children,” removing the part that mentioned parental approval.

However, Greene insisted the original wording was not an accident. She said the change only happened because of the huge reaction from conservatives online. In her posts, she argued that Trump was forced to change the statement because of pressure from his supporters, similar to how she claimed he had been pressured before regarding the release of files connected to Jeffrey Epstein.

There is also some reason people think Greene might be right about the wording reflecting Trump’s views. In a 2024 interview with Bloomberg, Trump said that he did not want transgender surgeries for minors without parental consent. He described that position as “common sense,” suggesting that if parents agreed, it might be acceptable.

Issues involving transgender rights and the broader LGBTQ+ rights movement have become a major topic in U.S. politics in recent years. During the lead-up to the 2024 election, Republican groups reportedly spent around $222 million on advertisements and messaging focused on transgender issues and criticism of the LGBTQ+ community. Since starting his second term, the president has continued to push several policies that affect LGBTQ+ people.

At the time of the report, the White House had not responded to requests for comment about the situation.