President Trump leaned into one of the most popular yet contentious issues during his speech to Congress Tuesday night, describing transgender identity education in schools as a “big lie” and emphasizing his administration’s goal of eradicating it from the nation’s schools.
“I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body. This is a big lie,” Trump said.
“And our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.”
President Trump: “Now I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body.
Our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.” pic.twitter.com/BfNQUIK79o
— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) March 5, 2025
A New York Times/Ipsos January survey found that 71 percent of Americans oppose allowing doctors to prescribe puberty-blocking drugs, or so-called hormone therapy, to children ages 10-18. Meanwhile, 79 percent object to “transgender female athletes — meaning athletes who were male at birth but who currently identify as female” — competing in women’s sports, according to the survey’s wording.
Even with the public aligning with Trump, Democrats in Congress have opposed him on both issues. This week, Senate Democrats unanimously blocked a bill aimed at prohibiting biological males from participating in female sports teams at federally funded schools.
Trump referenced the story of Florida mom January Littlejohn, who alleges school officials helped her 13-year-old daughter transition without her consent. Littlejohn filed a lawsuit.
“A few years ago, January Littlejohn, and her husband, discovered that their daughter’s school had secretly socially transitioned their 13-year-old little girl,” Trump said. “Teachers and administrators conspired to deceive January and her husband while encouraging her daughter to use a new name and pronouns — they/them pronouns, actually — all without telling January.”
Littlejohn was seated in the gallery as Trump’s guest. She is a “courageous advocate against this form of child abuse,” Trump said.
“Stories like this are why, shortly after taking office, I signed an executive order banning public schools from indoctrinating our children with transgender ideology. I also signed an order to cut off all taxpayer funding to any institution that engages in the sexual mutilation of our youth,” he said to applause.
Congressional action is necessary to ensure his policies become permanent, Trump said.
Trump also discussed his administration’s action on sports, referencing the story of a North Carolina high school athlete, Payton McNabb, who suffered injuries during a volleyball match against a team with a trans-identifying player. Trump noted that he “signed an executive order to ban men from playing in women’s sports.”
“Three years ago, Payton McNabb was an all-star high school athlete, one of the best, preparing for a future in college sports,“ Trump said. “But when her girls volleyball match was invaded by a male, he smashed the ball so hard in Payton’s face, causing traumatic brain injury, partially paralyzing her right side and ending her athletic career. It was a shot like she’s never seen before. She’s never seen anything like it.“
McNabb also was seated in the gallery as a guest of Trump.
“And Payton, from now on, schools will kick the men off the girls team, or they will lose all federal funding,“ Trump told her to applause.
His administration is promoting a “common sense revolution“ across the nation, Trump said.
“Common sense has become a common theme,“ he said, “and we will never go back.”
Payton McNabb joins President Trump at the Joint Session of Congress after suffering a severe injury by a male competitor in women’s sports. She’s bravely fighting for fairness and safety for female athletes.
President Trump is clear: NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS. pic.twitter.com/xx0Rcx1TXX
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 5, 2025
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Win McNamee/Staff
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Listen to Michael’s Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
Originally published March 05, 2025.
