It’s no secret that some people in the so-called LGBTQ community do not accept transgender people and would be just as happy to see the “T” dropped altogether. Maybe the “B”, too, because have bisexual people ever really felt included? But I digress.

In a bid to get re-elected in November, Trump is trotting out the LGBT initialism (which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender). Like so many conservative politicians in Canada, they may not like what you stand for, but they’ll take your vote, thank you very much. They’ll promise to support you, then stab you in the proverbial back once they are re-elected.

Exhibit A: GLAAD has a list of 168 attacks on LGBTQ people by the current White House administration since it took office, many of them targeting transgender people. I don’t think this comes as a surprise to anyone who reads reputable newspapers like the New York Times. But if you would like to read a list of them, check out the Trump Accountability Project (TAP) on the GLAAD site here.

Exhibit B: In a New York Times article by Maggie Haberman, Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, says the Trump administration has tried to divide the LGBTQ coalition by targeting transgender people with all sorts of restrictions, from a ban on military service to blocking trans students’ access to washrooms that match their gender identity to barring access to single-sex homeless shelters and more. David says the Trump administration is trying to drive a wedge between the LGB and T, and “We’re not taking the bait.”

But many have already taken the bait within the LGBTQ community, and outside of it, too. There is a growing movement to invalidate transgender people. I’m not going to dwell on this here now, except to say there is a lot of dislike out there for trans people. This blog has even had people stop participating here, perhaps even stop reading, because of my support for the trans community.

But will the dislike for trans people by some gay and lesbian folks translate into votes for Donald Trump in November? Will they overlook the fact that members of the Trump administration would roll back their rights, too, if they could get away with it? Will they overlook all of the other terrible things Trump has done?

Yes, I think some will. He will get some gay and lesbian votes, such is their disdain for trans people.

But it’s a pretty safe assumption that he won’t be getting any of the trans vote.

— Jillian