US President Donald Trump appeared to reverse course on comments about gender-affirming surgery for transgender minors after facing swift criticism from conservative allies.
On Thursday (5 March), Trump posted a message on Truth Social promoting the proposed “SAVE America Act”. The post outlined five policy points, with the final point suggesting he would support gender-affirming surgery for minors if parents provided written consent.
The now-deleted fifth bullet point read:
“NO TRANSGENDER MUTILATION SURGERY FOR CHILDREN, WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN APPROVAL OF THE PARENTS.”
Although the wording referred to gender-affirming procedures as “transgender mutilation surgery”, the suggestion that parental approval could permit such care appeared to contradict the administration’s broader stance on transgender healthcare.
Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order aimed at restricting gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth under the age of 19. The order, titled “Protecting Children From Chemical And Surgical Mutilation”, sought to limit access to treatments including hormone therapy and surgical procedures for minors.
The president also addressed transgender youth during his recent State of the Union speech, referencing the case of Sage Blair. Blair’s mother has filed a lawsuit against the Appomattox County School Board, alleging the district failed to inform her that her child identified as male. The legal case is still ongoing.
Trump’s original post quickly drew criticism from conservative figures who interpreted the language as a shift in his position.
Former Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene responded strongly on social media, writing: “Trump now supports trans gender mutilation surgeries of children if their parents want it!!!!!”
Greene referenced her proposed legislation, the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, which would make it a felony to provide gender-affirming care to anyone under the age of 18, regardless of parental consent.
“My bill was a reflection of Trump’s own executive order banning child trans surgeries and so called gender affirming care,” she wrote, questioning whether the president had changed his position.
“Now Trump is reversing his stance???!!! What is wrong with him???”
Conservative commentator Matt Walsh also criticised the wording of Trump’s post, arguing that parental consent is not the central issue in the debate.
“‘No trans surgery for children without parental consent’ is meaningless,” Walsh wrote online. “The kids who are mutilated almost always have parental consent.”
He added: “The issue is that the procedure is barbaric and insane, no matter if parents agree to it or not.”
Shortly after the criticism emerged, Trump deleted the original Truth Social post and replaced it with a nearly identical version.
However, the revised message removed the phrase suggesting parental approval would allow the procedures. The final point in the updated post simply states: “No transgender mutilation surgery for children.”
