GLAAD has documented Donald Trump’s anti-LGBTQ history, including policies and efforts that deny lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and especially transgender Americans access to the best health care. His full anti-LGBTQ record can be found on GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Tracker. Health care is the top issue for LGBTQ voters, according to GLAAD’s 2024 Annual Election Poll.
President Trump’s medical records for LGBTQ people include:
In 2020, just two weeks into Pride Month, on the anniversary of the deadly shooting at Pulse, an LGBTQ club in Orlando, and in the middle of a pandemic, the Trump Administration announced new restrictions. In 2019, President Trump proposed cutting more than $1.35 billion, or 29%, from the PEPFAR budget. This was the largest proposed cut in history to a global HIV program. PEPFAR is the U.S. government program that fights AIDS overseas. In 2017, President Trump proposed cutting 17% of PEPFAR funding and hundreds of millions of dollars from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. He also proposed cutting $627 billion from Medicaid, the insurance that about 40% of the roughly 1.1 million people living with HIV in the U.S. rely on for treatment.
In 2018, the Trump administration announced a new department within the Department of Health and Human Services to protect religious medical professionals who wish to discriminate against LGBTQ patients and others. Trump has a record dating back to 1993 of spreading misinformation about HIV/AIDS, such as suggesting that the virus can be spread through kissing and that people who test positive often “go wild” to spread the virus on purpose. NPR’s investigative reporting found that, despite studies and reports showing that LGBTQ people have suffered disproportionately negative health outcomes related to COVID-19, Trump “has downplayed the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic throughout his presidency and has often contradicted public health experts and members of his administration in their more serious warnings about the virus.” Trump’s newly selected running mate, J.D. Vance, is staunchly opposed to life-saving medical care for transgender Americans. In July 2023, Vance introduced a federal bill that would criminalize providing medical care to transgender youth, including hormone treatments and surgery, with a maximum prison sentence of 25 years. “Under no circumstances should doctors be allowed to perform these horrific and irreversible surgeries on minors,” Vance said in a statement at the time. His bill also sought to block taxpayer funding for such care, including coverage under Obamacare, to prohibit universities from providing instruction on medical treatment for transgender people, and to deem foreigners who supported such procedures ineligible for visas or entry into the United States. Vance’s bill contradicts the recommendations of leading medical associations and leading health authorities around the world who have supported medical treatment for transgender people and youth and have spoken out against the misinformation being spread by those who oppose such lawsuits. More than 30 statements are here. Vance opposed the Respect Marriage Act, which would have provided federal protections for marriage for same-sex and interracial couples, calling such protections a “bizarre obstruction.” In June 2024, Vance voted against a bill that would have provided access to in vitro fertilization (IVF).
President Trump’s policies and efforts opposing access to reproductive health care include:
He appointed three anti-abortion justices to the U.S. Supreme Court and formed a majority to overturn Roe v. Wade, endangering patients, families, and safe healthcare across the country. He boasted that he was the one who overturned Roe v. Wade, saying, “Without me in Roe v. Wade, this story wouldn’t be happening. For 54 years, they’ve been trying to end Roe v. Wade, and I got it done, and I’m proud of it.” He recommitted to criminalizing abortion, telling Time magazine that he would not intervene in decisions to monitor or prosecute pregnant people. He refused to say whether his second administration would enforce the Comstock Act, an 1873 “zombie law” that banned the mailing of contraceptives and abortion pills. Trump claims that his current position on abortion is, “Now that abortion is legal wherever anyone wants it from a legal standpoint, the states will decide, by vote or by legislation, or both. And what they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state.” In the same video, he made the unsubstantiated claim that Democrats want to legalize the “execution” of babies who have already been born, which is not true.
President Trump has promised to implement more extreme and far-reaching health care policies in his second administration.
In his official campaign video, Trump promised that on his first day in office, he would “roll back” existing policies that support medical care for transgender people and youth, calling such medical care “chemical, physical, and emotional mutilation.” He promised to sign a new executive order directing all federal agencies to “cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age.” Trump promised to ask Congress to permanently ban the use of federal funds to promote medical care or pay for medical care for transgender Americans, both adults and minors. Trump’s current proposal would stop Medicare and Medicaid funding for hospitals and health care providers that provide medical care to transgender youth. Under Trump’s leadership, the Departments of Justice and Education would investigate hospitals, health care providers, and/or schools and teachers that seek to support transgender people. Trump said he would ask Congress to pass a bill that would stipulate that “the only sexes recognized by the United States Government are male and female, assigned at birth,” and would legally exclude transgender and non-binary people.
The 2024 Republican platform talks about its intention to cut funding from programs that support transgender health care, citing “radical gender ideology,” “gender indoctrination” and “gender insanity.”
Trump’s one-term administration included many activists from the anti-LGBTQ national organization Heritage Foundation, which and other groups have produced “Project 2025,” a playbook for the next U.S. president.
The document details regulations and executive orders that will go into effect on his first day in office, including: [from federal agencies and federal rule] “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), diversity, equity and inclusion, gender, gender equality, gender equality, gender awareness, gender sensitivity, abortion, reproductive health and reproductive rights.”
According to GLAAD’s 2024 Voter Opinion Poll.
81% of 2024 voters, 83% of swing voters, and 73% of Trump voters agree that medical decisions for transgender youth should be made by parents. Majorities of registered voters and 2024 voters say they oppose “political candidates.” [who] Republicans frequently talk about restricting transgender youth’s access to health care and participation in sports. All voter categories — LGBTQ, registered voters, Trump supporters, and swing voters who say they will vote for either party — overwhelmingly agree that “Republicans should stop focusing on restricting women’s rights and banning health care for transgender youth and instead focus on addressing inflation, job creation, and health care costs.” 94% of LGBTQ voters, 76% of registered voters, 76% of 2024 voters, and 82% of swing voters agree. 72% of LGBTQ survey respondents said they have experienced negative impacts on their mental health and emotional well-being caused by the current state of political discourse in our country.
According to the 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey, transgender Americans have long faced discrimination in health care, from insurance issues to verbal harassment, denial of treatment, and dealing with health care providers who don’t know how to properly treat transgender individuals. Survey participants also reported being denied routine medical and sexual health exams. The survey also found that transgender people are more likely to be uninsured than the general U.S. population.
For more on President Trump’s specific record on abortion and women, visit https://glaad.org/fact-sheet-trump-abortion/ For a comprehensive guide on best practices for covering the 2024 election, visit https://glaad.org/tag/election-2024/
