Legendary lawyer explains exactly how the president is using transphobia...

[Jessica_Rose ✅]

Legendary lawyer explains exactly how the president is using transphobia to manipulate voters

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/02/legendary-lawyer-explains-exactly-how-the-president-is-using-transphobia-to-manipulate-voters/ 🔗

Alex Bollinger (24 Feb 2026)

ACLU attorney and out trans man Chase Strangio pointed out how transphobia is being used to take attention away from the Trump administration's human rights abuses.

Noting that he doesn't like calling transphobia a distraction, he said on Ilana Glazer's It's Open podcast last week that it's important to look at "when it is deployed by this administration."

He brought up how the Education Department (ED) in January referred its investigation of Minnesota schools to the Department of Justice (DOJ), a critical step to denying the state federal funding as part of the president's anti-trans crusade. Strangio noted that this happened just after Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents killed nurse Alex Pretti, who was standing up to them because they pushed a woman.

The DOJ and ED investigation, Strangio said, was into how the state "let one trans girl play on a softball team in high school."

"One?" Glazer asked incredulously.

He said it's like the administration was saying, "Look over here," to distract from the abuses ICE and Customs and Border Patrol agents were perpetrating on the people of Minnesota.

"Look! Everyone hates trans people! Let's go back to that!" Strangio said, explaining the administration's alleged mindset. "We're gonna threaten Minnesota because they had one trans softball player."

"These things are happening, and they are connected."

[Lori Dee ✅]

In South Dakota, then-Governor Kristi Noem issued an Executive Order barring transgender girls and women from sports. At that time, there were none participating.

She did it to curry favor with Trump. It worked. Without any qualifications, she was appointed Director of Homeland Security.

As we used to say in the Army: "Suck up and move up."

[Dances With Trees]

Or, as someone said in Catch-22, "Today's parade has been cancelled."