Welcome to episode 4 of The Spectrum. This was recorded on January 31st, 2025. We continue with our early focus on transgender issues because this is where the the main attacks are coming from an administration that bends over backwards to contort logic and pretend the world exists in a different way than they want.

We’ll be focusing on Trump’s second Transgender ban. This is from an executive order posted on January 27th, 2025. This one is titled “PRIORITIZING MILITARY EXCELLENCE AND READINESS”. Once you read the thing, you realize the real title is, “Prioritizing the attack on transgender people”.

The contents of this executive order are not a surprise given his first order. In his quest to demonize transgender people, he must leave no option to hurt them unused.

In the order, Trump claims the military is “afflicted with a radical gender ideology to appease activists unconcerned with the requirements of military service like physical and mental health, selflessness, and unit cohesion.” 

This is typical Trumpspeak. Trump and the people around him think that being differently gendered is a mental illness. He makes a blanket claim that being transgender is incompatible with physical health, mental health and the capacity for selflessness. I would submit that he was looking in the mirror when those descriptions were written and he got distracted by his own reflection which has never been an example of any of those things. That it comes from a man who used the excuse of bone spurs to avoid any chance of military service. And, sure that could be true, but afterwards he could not recall which foot had the problem so were they real or were they as fictitious as the lies he tells about transgender people.

I have met transgender people who were serving or had served in the military and they were all proud of their military service and dedicated to the mission of the military. This is in stark contrast to a president who characterized people who went into the military as losers.

He goes on to say “Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.  A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”

This is all blatant lies. However, since Trump has based all of this on the premise that transgender people are deluded or liars, it isn’t a surprise. If dueling were legal, I know there are transgender soldiers who would call him out for questioning their honor and integrity. From a purely academic standpoint, it is fascinating to watch Trump project his own behavior on to others. Since he can’t conceive of behaving honorably or selflessly he doesn’t believe it could possible motivate anyone else. 

He also says, “For the sake of our Nation and the patriotic Americans who volunteer to serve it, military service must be reserved for those mentally and physically fit for duty.” Now, given that transgender people have been serving in the military openly or not for decades, I have to wonder how they have managed. How did they ever receive honorable discharges? How did they ever sacrifice their lives for others? If Trump’s assertions are true then they must all be physical and emotional wrecks. Except of course, they aren’t. He just makes it all up.

He claims they need “benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions.” This isn’t true. They don’t need special provisions. They just need provisions, the same as any other soldier. As to routine medical treatment, isn’t any soldier entitled to that? 

Trump seems to think that transgender people require constant medical care and this isn’t true. While it is true that any gender confirming surgery will put someone out of commission for a bit, once healed they will not require constant medical care. Trump takes one brief moment in the lives of some transgender people and blows it entirely out of proportion. If the person entering the military has already had this surgery then they have no downtime at all. So, what is the problem?

The problem is the irrational Republican fear of transgender people.

In the last episode we looked at his first transgender ban that prohibits any recognition of transgender people in the executive branch. We saw that it was based on an incorrect understanding of biology and psychology and how the real purpose was to make the lives of transgender people as difficult as possible. This is just more of the same. 

The military was working just fine before. He has demonstrated no operational issues. He just hates transgender people and doesn’t believe them when they tell the truth so he wants to get rid of them. This order is going to force transgender people into the wrong barracks. It’s going to force them to use the wrong pronouns. This will hurt their mental health. It will put their lives at risk. And, of course, it will make any medical treatment impossible. This is is the real kicker. Trump’s action is actually designed to make their mental and physical health worse. Of course, what he really wants is to drive them out.

I have no idea how many talented people the military will lose. But, when the military was discharging soldiers who were discovered to be gay, it was hurting military readiness as skilled soldiers were lost. Expect the same thing to happen here. 

In short, Trump’s military ban will have exactly the opposite effect says it wants to achieve. It will hurt readiness. It rejects the selfless and honorable service of Americans who want to serve their country. And, the thinly veiled prejudice is obvious to everyone. It’s obvious because whenever Trump targets a group, you know they have done nothing wrong other than to have the bad luck to become his political target.

Like his first transgender ban, this one will hurt America. It will hurt transgender Americans. It is based on a made up idea of how biology works. And, ultimately, it will backfire because it will raise sympathy in the general public just as attacks on gay Americans raised sympathy for same sex marriage. The problem is the people who will be hurt along the way. Donald will have blood on his hands when his actions cause the death of people who have done nothing to deserve what is happening to them.

Follow the link in the show notes to read the complete text of this executive order. Write to president@whitehouse.gov to let him know that his unwarranted attacks on transgender soldiers are un-American and have the opposite effect from what he says he wants to achieve. Tell him it is disgraceful treatment for soldiers who were willing to risk their lives to defend their country. Also write your representatives in the House and Senate. I say this for two reasons. First, the entire political system needs to hear how Americans don’t like it when other Americans are treated as less than human. And second, the email I sent to is currently undelivered. The email server is reporting that it can’t deliver it for an unknown reason. It is possible, perhaps likely, that it is now impossible to write directly to the president. I don’t know yet if this is a simple transient glitch or yet another way in which Trump wants to insulate himself from the Americans he is supposed to be protecting so we must find all the possible ways to get our message out. I’ll have a page in the show notes where you can find how to contact your House and Senate representatives.

You will also find a link to PFLAG’s resources on all the executive orders impacting us. It is worth taking a look at to see what we are facing. You have have received emails from organizations like Lambda Legal and HRC asking for donations to help fight these attacks. If you have the financial capacity to do this, please consider doing so.

If you have a story to share related to LGBT life experience, please contact me at spectrumpodcasthost@gmail.com.

In our next episode we’ll be looking at his third transgender ban, this time dealing with education.

Take care and stay safe.

Link to the executive order: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/prioritizing-military-excellence-and-readiness/

PFLAG’s page on executive orders and explainers: https://pflag.org/resource/executive-orders/

How to find and contact your federal legislators: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member