What does a Donald Trump presidency mean for LGBTQ+ rights?

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Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris to become the 47th President of the United States on Wednesday, following a campaign criticised for its anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.

The former president, along with his running mate J.D. Vance, secured more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency.

Both have been accused of seeking to roll back key LGBTQ+ rights, while millions of dollars were spent on adverts using anti-transgender messaging during the campaign. 

LGBTQ+ advocates and allies have described a possible Trump administration as dangerous for the community, citing policies against gender-affirming care for minors, education in schools, and protection from discrimination. Here's everything you need to know. 

What has Trump pledged to do on LGBTQ+ rights?

Trump has a number of policies which will change rights for LGBTQ+ Americans - in particular those who are trans - as detailed in his plan to "protect children from left-wing gender insanity". 

The plan includes a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for trans minors, government programs that "promote" changing gender at any age, and the participation of trans female athletes in women's sport.

Any clinician who provides trans healthcare to minors would be struck off from Medicare and Medicaid.

Teachers who suggest to children that they might be a different gender identity to their biological sex will also face "severe consequences", while the U.S. government will only recognize the gender - only male or female - of a person assigned at birth, according to the agenda.

Parents will also be able to control what their children learn at school, it says. Trump has pledged to cut federal funding for any school pushing "gender ideology" or other "inappropriate" content for children. 

Trump has also vowed to "cut the left-wing gender programs" from the military and remove Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) bureaucrats from universities.

A 2024 study from UCLA's Williams Institute into the impact of anti-DEI legislation on LGBTQ+ faculty members at universities found such policies negatively impacted their teaching, research, relationship with students, and health. 

What is Trump's record on LGBTQ+ rights?

In his first presidency, Trump sought to roll back anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people across various settings, including healthcare, employment, adoption, school restrooms, housing and homeless shelters.

Many included religion-based exemptions, that would allow LGBTQ+ people to be excluded on the grounds of faith.

The Trump administration also banned trans Americans from serving in the military - a policy that Biden has since reversed - and removed LGBTQ+ content from federal websites. It reassigned the U.S. Special Envoy for LGBTQ+ Rights, so that the post remained vacant until 2021, according to the U.S. State Department.

All references to LGBTQ+ people were removed in a 2020 draft update of USAID policy, and repeated cuts to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) were put forward in Trump's budget proposals.

At the end of his time in office, nearly a third of U.S. court judges were Trump selections on lifetime appointments - of which 40% had demonstrable anti-LGBTQ+ bias, analysis by Lambda Legal, a litigation-focused LGBTQ+ rights organization, found in January 2021. 

During this election campaign, Trump spent millions of dollars on online and television adverts which sought to fuel misinformation surrounding Harris' policies on trans issues.

What have LGBTQ+ groups said?

Multiple LGBTQ+ organizations have spoken out against Trump since he first announced he was running as a presidential candidate in 2022. 

GLAAD, a non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organization, has documented Trump's statements and actions against the community throughout the campaign, while advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign has described him as the most anti-LGBTQ+ president in American history.

Civil Rights Organization American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published a 10-page analysis on Trump's administration, noting that they will be mobilising their network to fight the "dangerous policies". 

Advocates said defeating Trump in the election was "critical for the cause of equality" in an open letter supporting Harris in July. 

"Our fundamental freedoms are under attack and we must stop Donald Trump and his MAGA minions from wielding the levers of power to further erode and roll back all that's been achieved for equality," they said in the letter, signed by more than 1,100 advocates.

(Reporting by Lucy Middleton; editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa.)