WashPost OP ED: Caitlyn Jenner: I thought Trump would help trans people. I was wrong.

[riversedge]

'I was wrong' about Trump, Caitlyn Jenner says in op-ed

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/i-was-wrong-about-trump-caitlyn-jenner-says-op-ed-n924531


Tim FitzsimonsTim Fitzsimons reports on LGBTQ news for NBC Out.
3-4 minutes

Oct. 25, 2018 / 4:25 PM CDT

By Tim Fitzsimons

Reality TV star and former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner penned an op-ed for The Washington Post in which she renounced her endorsement and support for President Donald Trump.

"Sadly, I was wrong," Jenner wrote in the mea culpa, which was published Thursday afternoon. "The reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president."

Jenner had been a rare transgender supporter of the president and the Republican Party, and her politics earned her the ire of many LGBTQ advocates, who widely view the president's policies as harmful.

Jenner also explicitly renounced her efforts to work from within the GOP, calling it a mistake.

"My hope in him — in them — was misplaced, and I cannot support anyone who is working against our community," Jenner wrote. "He has made trans people into political pawns as he whips up animus against us in an attempt to energize the most right-wing segment of his party.".....................................................
Maybe now that she had admitted she was wrong, she can really begin to help the transgender community.



Caitlyn Jenner: I thought Trump would help trans people. I was wrong.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/caitlyn-jenner-i-thought-trump-would-help-the-lgbtq-community-i-was-wrong/2018/10/25/3c4cd61e-d86a-11e8-83a2-d1c3da28d6b6_story.html?utm_term=.889ee22cc6ab

Caitlyn Jenner in 2015. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
By Caitlyn Jenner
October 25 at 3:24 PM

Caitlyn Jenner is a transgender rights advocate and author.

These past two years under President Trump have given me the opportunity to reflect on a lot of topics that have come up in the LGBTQ community and in our nation. Some of these are thorny issues still worth discussing; many should have been settled long ago. As I’ve watched and pondered, my outlook has changed significantly from what it was during my highly publicized and glamorized early Caitlyn days, when my life as an out trans woman was just beginning.

Since then, I have learned and continue to learn about the obstacles our community faces, the politics that surround us and the places my voice can help. I have reflected on what my unique position of privilege means and how I can best use it to make a positive difference.

Following Trump’s election as president, I saw fertile ground for change within the Republican Party on LGBTQ issues. Trump was the first Republican presidential candidate to claim to support this valuable, vulnerable community, and I was encouraged by the applause he received when he said at the Republican National Convention in July 2016 that he would stand up for the LGBTQ community. Poll after poll showed that Americans’ views on LGBTQ issues were changing for the better — and that this groundswell extended even to the voter base of the Republican Party. I was optimistic that this was how I could leverage my privilege for change.


I believed I could work within the party and the Trump administration to shift the minds of those who most needed shifting. I made many trips to Washington to lobby and educate members of Congress, other Washington policymakers and powerful influencers. These meetings were generally positive and almost always led to encouraging conversations. Despite the criticism I received from segments of the LGBTQ community for engaging with this administration, I remained hopeful for positive change.
Defining gender: What a narrow framework could mean for the transgender community

Reports say the Trump administration is considering defining gender solely by a person's biological framework. Here are some of the changes in approach. (Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)

Sadly, I was wrong. The reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president. The leader of our nation has shown no regard for an already marginalized and struggling community. He has ignored our humanity. He has insulted our dignity. He has made trans people into political pawns as he whips up animus against us in an attempt to energize the most right-wing segment of his party, claiming his anti-transgender policies are meant to “protect the country.” This is politics at its worst. It is unacceptable, it is upsetting, and it has deeply, personally hurt me......................................

Link to tweet

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. How is it that all of the rest of us understood that Trump is no friend

to the LGBQT community, and Caitlyn Jenner couldn't figure it out until now?

[GWC58]

2. Maybe Caitlyn should have spoken first with Trump

before Rep. Vicky Hartzler, (R-MO) did. Actually I’m kidding. It would’ve done 0 good. Hartzler had much to do with Trump’s “Trans-ban” in the military.

[malthaussen]

3. "Boy, am I a stupid person, or what?"

Fixed that headline for ya, Caitlyn.

-- Mal

[still_one]

4. Ms Jenner thank you for confirming to the rest of us that you are an idiot

[Gothmog]

5. trump is a racist homophobe

It was stupid to believe that he would help someone who is not white straight and rich

[rogue emissary]

6. Exactly.

She's fine with him attacking blacks, immigrant, mexicans and doing nothing for them. She only saw the light when he attacked her community.

When his dump ass came down the escalator and said "they don't send their best, they send murders and rapist" I know everything I needed to know about that racist fool.

[Mosby]

7. Better late than never, I guess.

[riversedge]

8. I am glad she is finally seen the light.

[Lucky Luciano]

9. Caitlyn, you are a moron. All the way. Fuck off. Nt

[BlueWI]

10. The clue phone has been ringing since the 1970s

on Trump and his father's racism, heterosexism, meglomania, and grifter behavior.

His rise to the presidency didn't occur in a vacuum. There were a lot of enablers.

At least there's one fewer today who at least had the temerity to admit her colossal error in judgement.