Did Caitlyn Jenner Exaggerate Transgender Numbers In Military To Scold Trump On Ban?
Caitlyn Jenner appeared to waste no time today when it came to tweeting her thoughts on President Trump putting a ban back in place to keep transgendered individuals out of the military. In a shout-out to her almost 4 million followers on Twitter, Jenner slammed Trump’s ban by asking what happened to Trump’s “promise to fight?”
The former Olympic champion turned reality show star also threw out the number of 15,000 to indicate how many transgender individuals are serving in the military today. It appears that number was a bit of an exaggeration when compared to what the data from recent studies indicates. Reports on the number of transgender individuals serving in the military vary a bit. The numbers can be seen toward the end of this article.
This is not the first battle that Jenner picked with Trump over LGBT issues. Caitlyn was once furious with Trump over his decision on the LGBT bathroom use, according to a Vanity Fair article from February.
Vanity Fair reports, “Trump lifted the federal guidelines which allowed transgender students to use the bathroom for the gender with which they identify.”
Jenner was furious that Trump unraveled the guidelines put in place during the Obama administration.
Donald Trump’s tweets this morning revealed his plans to reinstate the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, according to the Daily Beast. A Wednesday afternoon press conference saw Sarah Huckabee Sanders inundated with questions regarding this ban. The big unanswered question was how Trump plans to initiate this policy, considering there are a few hundred transgendered soldiers already serving in the military.
Trump announces ban on transgender people from serving in US military – a stunning reversal from Obama-era policies https://t.co/woPys8DmwR pic.twitter.com/xzpidBCkyG
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 26, 2017
This was again reversing the work done during the Obama administration. Instantly, social media was on fire with reactions coming from every corner of the nation.
The series of tweets sent out by the president this morning can be seen below.
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
….Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
….victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
Trump sent out a series of tweets on the subject, stating that the military needs to focus on victory, according to the Washington Post. Allowing transgender individuals to serve in the military comes with the burden of the higher medical costs.
The medical expense, along with the “disruption” this causes, is what led Trump to the decision to reinstate the ban after consulting with “my Generals and military experts,” Trump conveyed.
There are 15,000 patriotic transgender Americans in the US military fighting for all of us. What happened to your promise to fight for them? https://t.co/WzjypVC8Sr
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) July 26, 2017
What is the number of transgendered individuals serving in the military?
As seen above, Jenner states that “15,000 patriotic transgender Americans” are currently serving in the U.S. military, but that number is only 250, according to AOL News. That same number is reported in a few online articles today. But Time Magazine said there is no official count on the numbers of transgender people who serve in the military.
“[The] 2016 RAND Study estimated that between 1,320 and 6,630 transgender service members are in the active duty military, while between 830 and 4,160 members are in reserves duty.”
According to the Heavy, the RAND Study has offered up future estimates, which are based on the numbers seen today.
“The study predicted that about 40-190 military personnel would seek gender transition per year, 30-140 would seek hormone therapy per year and 25-130 would seek actual surgical treatment a year.”
These numbers stated above are much less than the 15,000 Jenner is reporting for the number of transgendered individuals in the military today. Jenner also called out Trump on a tweet he posted during his campaign for the presidency. That tweet is seen below.
Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2016
How will this transgender military ban be initiated?
In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked what will happen to the transgendered individuals serving in the military right now. Does the gate open with officials sending them through with a suitcase in hand, or will they be allowed to stay in their positions, keeping the ban to new recruits only?
To all the LGBT Americans (including Caitlyn Jenner) who supported Trump and believed him, what were you thinking? https://t.co/hbSXWAcamV
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) July 26, 2017
That procedure is still on the drawing board, and the details on how this will be initiated are in the process of being worked out. This was a “military decision” and nothing more, said Sanders, who was bombarded with the transgender ban questions.
[Featured Image by Paul A. Hebert/AP Images]