President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to “stop the transgender lunacy” from day one of his presidency, as Republicans, set to control both chambers of Congress and the White House, continue their push against LGBTQ rights.
Speaking at an event for young conservatives in Phoenix, Arizona, Trump said,”I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high schools.”
He also promised to “keep men out of women’s sports,” adding that “it will be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”
Transgender issues have become a hot topic in US politics, with Democratic- and Republican-controlled states adopting opposing policies on matters such as medical treatment and the types of books allowed in public or school libraries.
Just last week, the US Congress approved its annual defence budget, which included a provision to block funding for some gender-affirming care for the transgender children of service members.
In his speech, Trump also outlined his broader vision for his second term, promising immediate measures to tackle “migrant crime,” pledging to designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organisations, and doubling down on his previous statements about restoring US control over the Panama Canal.
Trump added,”On January 20, the United States will turn the page forever on four long, horrible years of failure, incompetence, national decline, and we will inaugurate a new era of peace, prosperity and national greatness.”
He vowed to end the war in Ukraine, halt the chaos in the Middle East, and prevent World War III. “The golden age of America is upon us,” he declared.
While he has yet to provide details on how he plans to quickly end the war in Ukraine or bring peace to the Middle East, Trump did turn his attention to Panama. He claimed that the Panamanian authorities “haven’t treated us fairly” in their operation of the Panama Canal and criticised the fees for using the waterway as “ridiculous.”
He also stated that if the principles behind the 1970s treaty, which granted Panama full control of the canal, were not followed, “then we will demand” that it be returned to the United States “in full, quickly and without question.” The canal is a key route for thousands of ships every year, making it critical for US and international trade.
Trump, who regularly blames migrants from Latin America for America’s drug problems, reiterated his vow to immediately launch “the largest deportation operation in American history” upon taking office. He went further, stating he would “immediately designate the (drug) cartels as foreign terrorist organisations,” and promised that “this criminal network operating on American soil will be dismantled, deported, and destroyed.”
During his first term in 2019, after the killing of nine American citizens from a Mormon community in Mexico, Trump had vowed to apply the terrorist designation to Mexican cartels. However, he later relented following a plea from then-Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.