The Trump administration has adopted a controversial approach to press engagement by refusing to respond to journalists who publicly include their pronouns in email signatures or online profiles.
In recent weeks, at least three incidents have been reported where U.S. government spokespersons declined to engage with reporters for listing pronouns, such as “she/her” or “they/them”, in their communication.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (she/her) told The New York Times that it was now “a matter of policy” for press aides to ignore media queries from journalists with pronouns in their bios. This came after the paper sought a comment on the potential closure of a climate research facility.
Katie Miller (she/her), a senior advisor at the Department of Government Efficiency, doubled down, stating that journalists who list pronouns “ignore scientific realities and therefore ignore facts.”
The use of pronouns, a basic component of modern English, has become an ideological flashpoint for conservative leaders, many of whom appear to fundamentally misunderstand or dismiss their usage and significance, especially in the context of inclusivity and gender identity.
In February, as part of former President Donald Trump’s (he/him) broader crackdown on inclusive practices within the federal government, employees were ordered to remove pronouns from their email signatures. According to a CNN report, those who failed to comply faced “disciplinary action, including termination. ”
This directive reportedly aligns with an executive order signed by Trump, which mandated the use of the term “sex” over “gender” and declared it federal policy that the United States recognises only “two sexes: male and female.”
Pressed further about the policy, Leavitt accused journalists who use pronouns of being unreliable, saying, “A journalist who uses them clearly does not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story.” She added, “If The New York Times spent the same amount of time actually reporting the truth as they do being obsessed with pronouns, maybe they would be a half-decent publication.”
Critics say phrases like “biological reality” are used to invalidate trans and non-binary identities by falsely implying gender is fixed and binary. Such rhetoric also disregards the existence of intersex people and the nuances of gender diversity.
Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride (she/her), a prominent transgender lawmaker, responded to the administration’s stance, calling it a deliberate distraction from deeper political issues. “Look at what [Republicans] are doing to pick the pocket of American workers, to fleece seniors by privatising social security and Medicare,” McBride said in November after being barred from using bathrooms aligned with her gender identity in the U.S. Capitol.
More recently, she remarked that whenever transphobic comments in her inbox rise, it’s a sign “the stock market is down,” pointing to Republicans’ deflection tactics amidst wider economic problems.
Indeed, Trump’s tariffs have triggered international trade tensions, with China retaliating with an 84 per cent levy on U.S. goods. While Trump has paused tariffs for most nations until July, the economic uncertainty has prompted criticism that the administration is focusing on cultural flashpoints instead of economic repair.
