Trumps Bans Trans From Military
President Trump today, continued his attack on President Barrack Obama’s legacy and rolled back a key measure set in place by the prior President. Trump announced via twitter that he was banning all transgender individuals from all forms of military service. He labeled them as a “burden”, too costly, and a “disruption”.
Trump campaigned on nationalism and celebrating patriotism, yet in three (3) tweets he completely turned his back on a small group of patriots in the military of which he is the Commander and Chief.
I cannot be convinced that these people are in any way a burden or a disruption. If they can get through basic training and meet all the demands set forth they should be able to serve their country like anyone else. But this isn’t about their ability to serve or the cost, this is about white washing an erasing Barrack Obama’s legacy.
At most the “cost” of transgender soldiers is less than a single percent of the military health care budget, a literal drop in the bucket of money spent on the healthcare of our military, but again this isn’t about cost or burden it’s about hate and disdain for Barrack Obama. Trump and the GOP faithful what to be able to look back and say Obama accomplished nothing and was a failed experiment because once they erase all he has done there will be nothing to defend him.
This is why the media is necessary, this is why bloggers and podcasters are necessary, because we all need to be telling this story in real time for the generations after us. We need to tell the true story of the assault on our transgender brothers and sisters with this reversal, but we also need to tell of the assault Obama’s legacy.
You have to wonder how Caitlyn Jenner feels about her support of Donald Trump right about now…
THE TOPLINE: President Trump announced Wednesday that he would end service by transgender people in the military, opening up a culture battle that caught much of Washington by surprise.
Trump made the announcement after House conservatives pushed the White House to curb Pentagon funding for transition-related medical care and indicated they may not support the spending bill currently on the floor over the issue.
But Trump went much further, and decision-makers on Capitol Hill, including the Armed Services committees, were out of the loop.
Trump’s announcement, made in two morning posts on Twitter, also left more questions than answers — including whether the 250 openly transgender troops and thousands more who remain private about their gender identity could face immediate discharge.
Trump announced the military would “not accept or allow” transgender people to serve “in any capacity,” saying he had made the decision after consultation with “my Generals and military experts.”
The Pentagon, in a three-sentence statement, referred all questions to the White House and said more guidance would be given in the “near future.”
WHITE HOUSE ON THE DEFENSIVE: The White House press briefing provided little more information on how Trump and the Pentagon will implement the policy.
Deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders faced a barrage of questions about how Trump came to the decision, why he announced it over Twitter, whether the Department of Defense was involved, whether the decision was politically motivated and if Trump was failing in his campaign pledge to defend LGBT Americans.
Frustrated, Sanders threatened to end the press briefing if reporters didn’t have questions about anything else.
“I really don’t have anything else to add on that topic,” she said at one point. “As I do, I’ll keep you posted. But if those are the only questions we have, I’m going to call it a day. But if we have questions on other topics, I’ll be happy to take those.”
A few, particularly conservatives who have been pushing for a roll back in the policy allowing open service, were pleased.
“President Trump’s decision today to rescind Obama’s transgender military policy has the best interests of the military in mind, and I thank him for taking this decisive action,” said Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), who sponsored a failed amendment to ban Pentagon funding from being used for transition-related medical care.
Steve
Steve is an affordable multifamily housing professional that is also the co-founder of Whiskey Congress. Steve has written for national publications such as The National Marijuana News and other outlets as a guest blogger on topics covering sports, politics, and cannabis. Steve loves whiskey, cigars, and uses powerlifting as an outlet to deal with the fact that no one listens to his brilliant ideas.
