by Jake Smith
Kamala Harris’ Democratic vice presidential candidate — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — once criticized the previous Trump administration for barring transgender people from serving in the military, a review of public records shows.
Former President Donald Trump announced this prohibition in 2017, citing concerns that the military needed to focus on achieving a “decisive and overwhelming victory” without “the enormous medical costs and disruption that transgender individuals in the military would entail.” Walz had been outspoken about his disapproval of the ban during Trump’s term, initially condemning It has been called “completely unacceptable” by multiple reports, warning that banning transgender people from joining the military undermines its readiness.
There is an open debate about whether transgender people should be allowed to serve in the military. In 2021, 66 percent of Americans surveyed said they supported the idea, up from 71 percent in 2019. According to to Gallup.
“After 24 years of service as an enlisted soldier, I know what it takes to build cohesive teams in our military. This president [Trump]”He who has not served a single day in uniform, does not serve,” Waltz said in a now archived document. statement in 2017. “Let me be clear: serving alongside soldiers who are different than you is not a challenge.”
The President’s ban on military service for our transgender brothers and sisters is not only wrong, it undermines our national security.
As Commander-in-Chief @MNNationalGuardI will do everything in my power to ensure that everyone who is willing and able to serve can do so. #mngov photo: twitter.com/hqVLAcUd9j
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) January 23, 2019
“This statement sends a clear message that the president does not understand a fundamental truth: our military members are capable professionals who can accomplish any mission this nation requires,” Waltz said in a statement. “This is nothing more than the president using the lives of Americans to distract from his own political problems.”
The Trump administration has made a decision revision to the 2018 ban “introduced by [former] “Secretary of Defense,” stating that “transgender individuals with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria — individuals who, under the policy, may require significant medical treatment, including medications and surgery — are disqualified from military service, except in certain limited circumstances.”
In January 2019 statementWaltz said barring transgender people from serving in the military is “not only wrong, it undermines our national security.”
President Trump has disrespected the service and sacrifices of our brave transgender troops, all to distract from his own scandals.
In addition to ending this shameful ban, @realDonaldTrump owes an apology to our entire military.
— Former MP Tim Walz (@RepTimWalz) March 24, 2018
“We will not allow this situation to be used as a political football… We will uphold those fundamental principles of inclusiveness and equality that every one of these soldiers and every person in the state of Minnesota and across this country deserves,” Walz said.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Our transgender soldiers are true patriots. They deserve to be thanked, not attacked,” Walz said in statement in the following months.
The ban on military service for transgender people was overturned in 2021 by the Biden administration. The Pentagon under Biden has welcomed several left-wing rulesincluding Financing medical treatment for transgender people, including LGBTQ Initiatives AND cost reimbursement soldiers who travel out of state to obtain abortions.
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Jake Smith is a reporter at the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Tim Walz” by Tim Waltz.
