--- title: How President Trump Has Affected LGBTQ RIghts description: Sarah Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD, explains how Donald Trump's presidency has affected the LGBTQ community. canonical: https://time.com/5104657/donald-trump-lgbt-rights/ author: Sarah Kate Ellis article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-16T20:30:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:44.192Z article:section: Ideas og:title: President Trump Is Trying to Erase the LGBTQ Community og:description: 'We will not be removed' og:url: https://time.com/5104657/donald-trump-lgbt-rights/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fa6d673970e6e47/6988f861ab6d7782546b15cb/sarah-kate-ellis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5616 og:image:height: 3159 og:image:alt: Rising Stars At The GLAAD Gala San Francisco og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Is Trying to Erase the LGBTQ Community twitter:description: 'We will not be removed' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fa6d673970e6e47/6988f861ab6d7782546b15cb/sarah-kate-ellis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Is Trying to Erase the LGBTQ Community > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Here's Everything President Trump Has Said About the LGBT Community [Watch (HLS stream): Here's Everything President Trump Has Said About the LGBT Community](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Ie4CgQPp.m3u8) (2:17)  _Published 2017-07-26. President Donald Trump announced in a series of tweets on Wednesday that the government will not allow transgender people to serve in the U.S. military. The move represents Trump’s latest flip-flop on his stance on LGBTQ rights_ by [Sarah Kate Ellis](https://time.com/author/sarah-kate-ellis/) ## Sarah Kate Ellis Jan 16, 2018 8:30 PM UTC  GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis speaks onstage during the GLAAD Rising Stars Gala luncheon at The InterContinental San Francisco on September 8, 2017 in San Francisco, California. GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis speaks onstage during the GLAAD Rising Stars Gala luncheon at The InterContinental San Francisco on September 8, 2017 in San Francisco, California. Kelly Sullivan—Getty Images for GLAAD by [Sarah Kate Ellis](https://time.com/author/sarah-kate-ellis/) ## Sarah Kate Ellis Jan 16, 2018 8:30 PM UTC It’s been almost a year to the day since my life – both personally and professionally – [changed profoundly](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/CFRGCv2w2Lsq019LiOXrwJ?domain=time.com). It can only be described as moving from a place of possibility and progress to a nightmare for myself, my family and the [LGBTQ community at large](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/leBYCwpxp7FkZ6jVSO0o5b?domain=teenvogue.com). Personally, under the Obama administration, I stood on the White House lawn with my wife and our twins for the [Easter Egg Roll](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/YaWQCxkykLTDq8lRs1q5j8?domain=glaad.org). I attended LGBTQ Pride receptions and helped plan LGBTQ panel discussions at The White House. I celebrated as the White House was lit in a [rainbow after marriage equality](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/i9LVCyPzP2sKmD12C28EIp?domain=people.com) became law of the land. More importantly, however, during those years [LGBTQ rights and visibility expanded](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/VOxQCzpApYFEND1wSj9H-f?domain=obamawhitehouse.archives.gov) in new, historic and unprecedented ways. In fact, throughout my life there has always been forward motion — albeit sometimes trudging — on LGBTQ rights. But on January 20th of last year, Donald Trump [assumed the presidency of the United States](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/B0ncCADrDKIBJ0QlIxNZAQ?domain=time.com), and since day one – when references to LGBTQ people were [purged from the White House website](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/k1YWCBBvB9c0JqGRsxJmzb?domain=adweek.com) – the LGBTQ community was forced to face a new world order. The administration’s anti-LGBTQ actions are as numerous as they are insidious. President Trump announced his [attempt to ban transgender people](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/JlpiCDkxkWTwrp9JSrx2q1?domain=time.com) from the military, the LGBTQ community was [erased](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/0hlPCERyRWsOoy70U74Jlt?domain=nbcnews.com) from the National Survey of Older Americans, a budget was [proposed](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/mTMrCG6A6WhEZn7OSzBdwC?domain=cbsnews.com) that cuts funding to HIV and AIDS research, guidance [protecting trans](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/vKtrCJ616WhlLOJAulpOEI?domain=time.com)[gender](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/vKtrCJ616WhlLOJAulpOEI?domain=time.com)[ youth in schools](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/vKtrCJ616WhlLOJAulpOEI?domain=time.com) was rescinded, World AIDS Day passed without any [mention of LGBTQ people](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/2E6tCKrGr9FPxKoMTBHmQl?domain=huffingtonpost.com) and I could go on. Can you imagine being a transgender person in the military, proudly and bravely answering the call to serve your country, and then learning that Trump [tweeted](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/CsubCL9G9WFVMqWwSwpWLf?domain=theatlantic.com) about banning you? It’s heartbreaking to imagine, and most Americans would agree, that it is a disrespectful, despicable and ungrateful way to treat our bravest and most patriotic citizens. But it’s not only about policy, it’s also about culture. Trump is waging a culture war with our communities, the likes of which I have not seen in my lifetime. He aims to roll back rights and protections, but also general acceptance of LGBTQ people in society and culture. The White House was [radio silent during LGBTQ Pride Month](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/YK2KCM8X8WFDVPrksBXkRy?domain=cnn.com) for the first time in eight years. At GLAAD we wake up and go to work every day to create a culture of visibility and acceptance for LGBTQ people. Think about LGBTQ young people who are just coming out now in an environment where they’re being attacked daily and erased by our own government. That world is not acceptable to us, and we will resist it. GLAAD and the LGBTQ community have always been fighters – that is our legacy. Everything that our communities have achieved in the course of our history, we have fought for, and this time will be no different. In response to the administration’s onslaught of erasure and hate, GLAAD created the [Trump Accountability Project](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/36KNCNkGkWTJ5LWPtmNB6M9?domain=urldefense.proofpoint.com) to hold Trump and those in his administration accountable for their actions and statements. We joined other LGBTQ people in the streets during the [Women’s March](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/CDu%5FCOYGY6HlrY8ZuEEnKq8?domain=time.com) and protests against the [rollback of DACA](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/50-rCPNGNWu9AgwNSz0ELiT?domain=cnn.com) and the implementation of [the ](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/gTklCQWXWgFg4VQlSxMmIP6?domain=time.com)[travel ban](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/gTklCQWXWgFg4VQlSxMmIP6?domain=time.com). Our community spoke out when Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and their allies tried to write discrimination into law with [“religious exemptions” guidance](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/SsniCR6X6jhoPY60S9OsXR2?domain=politico.com). GLAAD also [leaked audio](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/hZ2gCVOWOnCmjBJkSGQXXmh?domain=nbcnews.com) of Mark Green, Trump’s [nominee for Secretary of the Army](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/pX%5FlCW616ohZw3EXS6p-oJ%5F?domain=usatoday.com), making discriminatory remarks towards transgender people, which resulted in Green’s decision to withdraw from consideration. And when there were [rumblings](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/UjyLCXDPDpIj7AQDt6756wk?domain=nytimes.com) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention censoring certain words from their 2018 budgets, including “transgender” and “diversity,” LGBTQ leaders were some of the first to denounce it. And we will fight on. Our voices and our visibility will yield change even in an administration that tries at every step to delete us from the cultural landscape. We will not be removed. And to those young people coming out right now in this political environment – we have your backs. We will shape the future — our future — together. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] You leave it the way it is. There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom that the feel is appropriate. So if Caitlyn Jenner were to walk into Trump Tower and want to use the bathroom, you would be fine with her using Any bathroom she chooses? That is correct. A radical Islamic terrorist targeted the night club. Not only because he wanted to kill Americans, but in order to execute gay and **** citizens, Because of their sexual orientation. It's a strike at the heart and soul of who we are as a nation. [ MUSIC ] A friend of mine called up he said, you know you don't get enough credit because in Palm Beach You opened a club that nobody would do, nobody would do. And it's open to everybody, it's open to everybody. And a person, a member of the club, a great guy, who's gay wrote this magnificent letter saying what Donald Trump did nobody else would do. I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology. [ APPLAUSE ] Believe me. [ APPLAUSE ] Do you support marriage equality? It's irrelevant because it was already settled, it's law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean, it's done. So even if you appoint a judge that- It's done. You have these cases have gone to the Supreme Court. They've been settled. [ MUSIC ] And I'm fine with that. 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