Trump, Who Is Separating Immigrant Families, Claims Blue States Are Ripping 'Children From Their Parents'

It was one of many ironic moments from the president's State of the Union address.

President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address was long and, unsurprisingly, full of lies. One of his party’s favorite topics to spout falsehoods about came up halfway through his speech: health care for transgender kids.

Trump denounced gender-affirming care for transgender minors and claimed blue states are encouraging kids to transition their gender without parental consent. In a truly ironic moment, he equated the protections blue states offer to minors who access trans health care to ripping children from their parents — while ignoring the fact that his immigration policy routinely takes kids from their families.

The president shouted out a young person named Sage, who was in attendance. Trump claimed Virginia school officials “sought to socially transition” Sage to a new gender, “treating her as a boy and hiding it from her parents.” When Sage ran away from home, a Maryland judge ruled the minor did not have to return.

“Surely we can all agree, no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will,” the president said triumphantly. “We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately.”

Some schools may not require parental consent to use a name or pronoun for a student that doesn’t match their biological sex — often because trans youth may not feel safe coming out to their families — but no states are removing kids from their homes to “transition them to a new gender.”