Masha Gessen, a New York Times opinion journalist, allegedly wrote a bit exposing” The Hidden Purpose Behind Trump’s Attacks on Trans People” earlier this month. Unsurprisingly, Gessen believes that the Trump policies are reality-based steps that protect women and children and keep American traditions. They also serve as proof of an insidious Trumpian plot.
Gessen begins her alleged exposé by lamenting the” current, protracted bad-news moment” and its effects on her “personally” as a” trans and an immigrant.” The comparison of the United States to Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union is therefore made. Gessen’s point becomes obvious as the article progresses: Trump’s “barrage of attacks on trans people” is at the heart of his “denationalization strategy,” which he purports to arrest trans people or use a more vilely Nazian goal.
Gessen compares trans people in America to Jews who were Jews in Europe during the Holocaust and shares the tale of a “nonbinary” companion who felt the need to conceal her Star of David jewellery when an reported “attacker” questioned whether she was” a woman or a boy,” putting a link between hatred and conventional, biology-based views of sex. In other words, the United States has morphed into 1930s Germany, and the Germans of the 21st century are those who reject the public’s gender theory.
Gessen cites Trump’s “assert]ion ] that only two sexes exist, executive orders aimed at preventing any mention of transgender people in schools, preventing trans athletes from playing in women’s sports, a stop preventing gender-affirming medical care for people under the age of 19, and removing the” X” designation from U.S. passports, and “visa guidelines” that require the sex designation on a person’s passport match that on his
In other words, Gessen’s point of view is the most convincing proof that the Trump presidency is an authoritarian government akin to the Third Reich or the Soviet Union due to its confirmation of biological and cultural experiences and spiritual laws, which is also, according to Gessen’s perspective and apparently that of The New York Times. Gessen interprets Trump’s understanding of the fact that “only two women exist: male and female, established at vision and eternal” as an claim that” trans people do not exist”. Trump is attacking trans people by making reference to Payton McNabb and her being hurt by a trans-identification man in his cooperative address to Congress. ( Gessen downplays the injury by claiming that” serious volleyball injuries are surprisingly common,” even though evidence suggests volleyball is one of the safer sports. )
Gessen’s conspiracy theory is absurd and unfounded, despite the fact that she may believe in her own fearmongering. Given that she actually suggested that Kamala Harris ‘ refusal to support pro-trans policies cost her the election, Gessen’s conspiratorial thinking may not be surprising. As the identities grow, transgender, nonbinary, and other people ( and others ) run the risk of being deported or alienated from society. Trump isn’t denying the existence of transgender people; he is simply stating that these people do not transcend the biological and cultural realities of both men and women.
In any case, the trans-activist claim of existence-denial is absurd: It’s quite obvious that a man is denying the man’s claim, not his existence ( and who else is he disagreeing with? ). A woman who chooses to identify as male instead of as nonbinary didn’t commit suicide.
No Trump policy does anything in the way of Gessen’s protests and all the headlines that make it seem like Trump is kicking trans people out of sports. As with everyone else, those who claim to be transgender are permitted to play sports with other people of the same sex. On the boys ‘ sports teams, a boy can try to look, act, and sound like a girl while still playing sports.
Gessen appears to disregard the fact that passports and other forms of identification require photographs, not just an M or an F for females. Passport photos are supposed to be recent when submitted, but they can be href=”https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/photos.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>updated to reflect a significant change in appearance, giving the opposition to the X designation’s removal a red herring. If all else fails, the person can simply href=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2025/03/07/transgender-nonbinary-passports/80567094007/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>explain why his passport indicates that he is male but that he is trying to look like a woman ( an uncomfortable conversation for some, perhaps, but one that the transgender person chose ). Trump doesn’t enforcing travel restrictions like Gessen does.
The Trump administration’s logical policies are merely a reflection of the reality that government has a role in preserving culture (or, in the case of the Biden administration, destroying it ). Even if that role is limited, it can only be assumed that the passports it issues will state the carrier’s sex as opposed to proving his confusion. When viewed through this lens, the policies Gessen decries have nothing to do with “denationalizing” those who claim to be transgender and nothing to do with accepting the truths about reality that constitute the foundation of this country and its cultural norms.
On the other hand, trans activists are utterly capable of destroying America’s cultural fabric in order to build a distorted framework, one that treats the notions of male and female as separate biological and cultural realities with a primary focus on transgender cosplay. Gessen herself argued that in 2012, marriage should not be reinstated because it wasn’t” compatible” with her relationship plan. ( Among other “incompatibilities,” her “new partner” at the time had just given birth to her brother’s child. )
An Illinois mother claimed that her daughter’s 13-year-old daughter’s school made female students undress in front of a male student, giving rise to a more recent instance of trans anarchism. Trans activists criticized the mother for speaking out at a board meeting, and the school disagreed with the mother’s assertion. Even if the mother’s story were entirely false, that wouldn’t change the fact that trans anarchists want the utter destruction of boundaries and norms rooted in intransigent distinctions between male and female. Schools require girls to undress in front of boys ( or men ) is exactly what they want.
Trump is against imposing cultural anarchy. His opposition is not motivated by his desire to eliminate transgender people from their own country, but rather by his recognition that if left unchecked, this cultural anarchy will ultimately lead to the destruction of the country where all Americans call their homes. Trump emphasizes the fact that “every child is perfect exactly the way God made them,” as he stated in his joint address to Congress. Gessen and those who adhere to her ideology are in no danger of losing their nation, but all Americans are in danger of having their country undermined by a radical trans agenda that tolerates no opposition.
In an interesting interview with the New Yorker in 2023, Gessen discussed her parents ‘ response to her calling her a “boy” and promising to have an operation when she grows up.
” Thankfully, my parents were incredibly game,” she said. They were completely content with it, Gessen said.
Trump isn’t “denationalizing” trans people. He is simply repeating what Gessen’s parents should have said to her: No. He is simply telling radical trans activists.
The Federalist’s assistant editor is Joshua Monnington. He is a graduate of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and previously worked as an editor for Regnery Publishing.
