Fact-checking Trump's anti-transgender comments in his address to Congress
President Donald Trump mentioned the transgender community half a dozen times throughout his address to Congress on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump mentioned the transgender community half a dozen times throughout his address to Congress on Tuesday, though trans people make up an estimated 1% of the U.S. population.
Less than 15 minutes in, he noted that he had signed an executive order declaring that the federal government will only recognize two unchangeable sexes, male and female, and another order banning trans women from participating in women’s sports.
He then introduced Payton McNabb, who played volleyball in high school in North Carolina and, Trump said, planned to play sports in college until “her girls’ volleyball match was invaded by a male.”
Trump said the player “smashed the ball so hard in Payton’s face causing traumatic brain injury, partially paralyzing her right side and ending her athletic career.”
It’s still unclear whether the player who spiked the ball and hit McNabb during the September 2022 match was trans. McNabb has said in interviews that she and her teammates were aware of a trans player on the team, but that player’s name has not been shared and she has not spoken to the press. Since then, McNabb has become a paid national advocate for state laws prohibiting trans students from playing on school sports teams that match their gender identities. She testified in favor of such a measure in North Carolina, which passed and took effect in August 2023.
Rating: 5