Messages received: Breach boundaries for me, you're fine. We'll round up the rest.

And: Make America white and cisgender again.

If the people who voted for Donald Trump to improve their economic prospects wondered what his top priorities would be, those were made crystal clear on day one of his presidency. Amnesty and pardons were given to some 1,600 people who answered his call to protest the 2020 election results -- the ones he referred to as “J.6 hostages.” Some members of white nationalist groups Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, others unaffiliated, they’d stormed the Capitol illegally, in some cases violently. Trump freed them.

At the other end was Trump’s order to dispatch thousands of military troops to the southern border to keep out migrants.

The message: Breach boundaries for me and you’re fine. Do it because you’re fleeing violence or persecution, and we’ll set the troops on you.

One Trump order stops refugee admissions, even for those already cleared to come from Afghanistan. Another ends birthright citizenship for kids born in America to non-citizen parents – violating an 1868 provision under the 14^th Amendment to the Constitution. Yet another executive order put federal employees working to build diverse, inclusive and equal workplaces on paid leave. That message? Make America White Again? Or maybe white and cisgender.

At his pre-Inauguration rally, Trump had suggested the standard under his predecessor Joe Biden was “Transgender for everyone,” whatever that means, and called for an end to “transgender insanity.” Later, he signed an order directing the federal government to recognize only two sexes -- male and female -- and end use of federal funds for “promoting gender ideology” or transition-related medical procedures in prisons. The directive isn’t limited to federal agencies. It targets schools anywhere in the country, which under Biden had been instructed to extend Title 9 Civil Rights Act protections against sex discrimination to gender identity. Trump’s actions undo that.

Iowa, under a Republican Legislature and governor, has already seen the results of state-level actions forbidding teachers from honoring a student’s preferred gender pronouns, requiring teachers to report such requests to the parents, and mandating the use of bathrooms aligning with students’ gender at birth. The bathroom bill has led to at least one student, in Northeast Iowa, being snagged and disciplined for using a restroom of their gender identity, according to Keenan Crow, the director of Policy and Advocacy for One Iowa. Asked what kinds of complaints they’ve heard about Iowa’s policies, Crow, whose organization represents LGBTQ Iowans, said they hear from parents worried their children’s presentation, pronouns and bathroom choices are being policed.

But even more worrisome are the kids they don’t hear from. The ones who aren’t out to their parents about their gender identification and might need counseling, but know that anything they say would be repeated to parents, who might not take it well.

The federal order will also mandate that IDs like U.S. passports give only a person’s gender at birth. Involuntary detention centers, whether state, federal or county level, mental-health or substance abuse oriented, will assign inmates to cells based on their gender at birth. We’ve seen the complications that arise from requirements like those in Iowa.

Studies have shown transgender women have a much higher likelihood of being sexually assaulted in prison when housed in male cells. An article from the International Journal of Transgender Health referenced 11 studies (nine in the U.S. and two in Australia) in which transgender and gender-diverse prisoners reported sexual assault, discrimination, stigma, harassment, and mistreatment. “The experiences of transgender prisoners as reported in this review are almost uniformly more difficult than other prisoners,” the report concluded. Their ‘otherness’ is used as a weapon against them by fellow prisoners through intimidation and violence (including sexual) and by prison officers through neglect and ignorance.”

Expect to see a lot more of that once this mandate takes effect.

Trump also made an issue at his rally of getting “wokeness the hell out of our military immediately.” Crow pointed out that in its 2020 Bostock v Clayton County ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal law protects employees or job applicants at workplaces with 15 or more employees against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It’s likely many of these executive orders will end up in court.

Trump’s ability to present mean-spiritedness as a virtue and draw applause for undermining steps giving marginalized groups a better chance are centerpieces of his political popularity. But who is he really catering to besides the billionaire businessmen surrounding and donating to him? Does he think he can appease others who aren’t of privilege just by throwing trans people and immigrants under the bus? What happens when his foreign tariffs drive prices up instead of down, and his income tax cuts for the wealthy start impoverishing critical public programs?

Amid the flurry of harsh orders since Monday, my hunger for the kind of inspiration new leadership is meant to bring was fulfilled in an unexpected place. It came from Episcopal Bishop, Right Rev. Mariann Budde’s televised sermon Tuesday at Washington National Cathedral, attended by Trump and his entourage. She beseeched him, in the name of God, to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now…. gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives… (People) in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing warzones and persecution… to find compassion and welcome here.” She segued to those who “pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat-packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals,” adding, “… the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.”

Trump responded on Truth Social, calling Budde a “Radical Left Hard Line Trump hater,” and saying she and the church owe the public an apology. I suspect she expected nothing less, but maybe a chance to reach the people, for which I salute and thank her. She has said she won’t apologize. It gave me hope.

---

I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative. Click below for the full roster.

Iowa Writers' Collaborative