Trump Promises Harsher ICE Crackdowns, Blaming "Transgender For Everybody"

The president has graduated to blaming transgender people for nearly anything he does.

White House Official - Public Record

On Sunday evening, fresh off the heels of a lackluster military parade in Washington, D.C.—and perhaps feeling upstaged by massive protests across the United States—President Donald Trump announced a new wave of immigration crackdowns targeting major Democratic-led cities. The announcement, made via Truth Social, followed a familiar script of inflammatory rhetoric aimed at immigrants. But what made this announcement stand out was its bizarre detour: amid his focus on immigration, Trump veered into blaming transgender people as part of the justification for his crackdown.

“We must expand efforts to detain and deport illegal aliens in America’s largest cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where millions upon millions of illegal aliens reside,” stated the post on Truth Social. “These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — and they are doing a good job of it! There is something wrong with them. That is why they believe in Open Boarders, Transgender for Everybody, and Men playing in Women’s Sports — And that is why I want ICE, Border Patrol, and our Great and Patriotic Law Enforcement Officers, to FOCUS on our crime ridden and deadly inner cities, and those places where Sanctuary Cities play such a big role.”

There was no explanation for what “transgender for everybody” has to do with immigration policy and the use of draconian crackdowns on immigrants in the United States, but two of the three listed reasons for the crackdowns focus on transgender people. Increasingly, the Trump administration has focused his administration’s efforts to target transgender people, repeatedly using the phrase “transgender for everybody” as a new catch-phrase for any criticism he makes of Democrats.

He has similarly used the phrase to defend his transgender military ban, stating, “No soldier ever volunteered for the Army to be lectured about transgender diversity or inclusion. You don't want to hear that. Transgender for everybody. We don't do that.”

In a speech to West Point graduates, Trump discussed deploying Marines to “liberate” Los Angeles and support ICE operations in the city. Flanked by handpicked service members expected to cheer him on, he declared: “Have you heard of the place, where I’ve deployed thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to protect federal law enforcement from the attacks of a vicious and violent mob and some of the radical left. They say, “Oh, that’s not nice.” Well, if we didn’t do it, there wouldn’t be a Los Angeles. We’d be burning today just like their houses were burning a number of months ago… We’re not going to let that happen. Remember, millions of people were allowed to come into our country totally unchecked and unvetted by stupid people or radical left people or sick people. But regardless, open-border policy, the dumbest policy yet. I would say even dumber than men playing in women’s sports, transgender for everyone, even dumber than that.”

The Trump administration’s targeting of transgender people has been pervasive from the earliest days of his second term. His policies have included scrubbing the word “transgender” from federal websites, erasing transgender history from the Stonewall National Monument, defunding LGBTQ+ organizations, and pressuring groups like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to deadname trans youth. Clinics have shut down under FBI threats. Disinformation—much of it crafted under RFK Jr.’s HHS—has been used to justify sweeping federal restrictions. Aside from immigration, no group has received more attention from this administration’s ire than transgender people, with dozens of executive orders, agency rulings, and policy memos designed to make daily life more difficult.

It remains to be seen how Trump intends to act on his catchphrase “transgender for everybody,” a slogan that veers between absurdity and menace. Its vagueness makes it a useful cudgel—shapeless enough to apply to any grievance, yet pointed enough to justify sweeping crackdowns. But behind the nonsense lies a chilling truth: the vision advanced by Trump and those he’s empowered is not one of inclusion gone too far. It’s a world where transgender people are denied care, visibility, and existence. “Transgender for nobody” is closer to the goal.