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The former president seemed keen on banning LGBTQ+ people from serving in the U.S. military in his second term.
Former President Donald Trump is facing intense backlash following the release of a campaign ad that attacks LGBTQ+ inclusion in the U.S. military. On Sunday, Trump posted the video on social media with the comment, “WE WILL NOT HAVE A WOKE MILITARY!”
The ad, which uses clips from Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 film Full Metal Jacket to juxtapose the image of a hardened military with scenes of LGBTQ+ service members, has been condemned by advocacy groups and military leaders alike for perpetuating harmful stereotypes and misrepresenting the modern military’s values.
The spot, which was shown at Trump rallies and posted to his social media, contrasts footage of the film’s infamous drill instructor berating recruits with clips of transgender Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, who is also an admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps which is not part of the armed services, drag performers and LGBTQ+ service members. The video ends with the message, “Let’s Make Our Military Great Again,” portraying Trump’s campaign against what he describes as the “woke” policies of the Biden administration.
LGBTQ+ rights organizations and advocates for military inclusion were quick to condemn the ad. Deputy Director of the Modern Military Association of America Cathy Marcello expressed deep dissatisfaction with Trump’s message, emphasizing that LGBTQ+ people have always served in the armed forces with honor.
“Modern Military is disappointed to see ads that disparage LGBTQ+ service members, along with veterans and their family members. This ad perpetuates harmful, outdated, and misinformed stereotypes of what the military is and what it should be,” Marcello told The Advocate in a statement.
“One of the individuals featured in this ad is a sailor who is currently deployed overseas, serving their country in harm’s way with honor and dignity. The fact that they perform drag in their free time has no impact on their ability to serve honorably and capably,” she continued.
Marcello also pointed out the long history of LGBTQ+ service in the military, noting that LGBTQ+ people were serving long before policies such as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” were repealed. She underscored that the military’s inclusion of LGBTQ+ service members has been thoroughly studied in terms of readiness and effectiveness.
“Current and past top military leaders continue to state that ‘diversity is a force multiplier’ and enhances our national security. They also, time and time again, emphasize that these attacks on LGBTQ+ service members are unfounded and that the military’s focus is on capabilities. Anyone who is capable of serving in our volunteer-only force should not be disqualified based on their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Marcello added.
She warned that excluding the LGBTQ+ community from the military would be not only discriminatory but also dangerous to national security. “The notion that 6% of the force would be suddenly forced out is not only impossible; it’s antithetical to American values,” Marcello said. “In a volunteer-only service, we can’t afford to lose a large portion of capable troops. It would harm our national security and allies abroad, cause massive financial burden on the DoD to recruit and train new troops, and devastate the livelihoods of countless service members and their families.”
Trump’s continued attacks on people he doesn’t like have also raised alarms among military leaders, including retired Gen. Mark A. Milley, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump. Milley, in comments published in a forthcoming book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward, warned that Trump represents a grave danger to the country.
Milley called Trump “fascist to the core” and described him as “the most dangerous person to this country,” the Washington Post reports. He elaborated that his concerns about Trump have only grown since serving in the administration, calling Trump a threat to democracy. “No one has ever been as dangerous to this country as Donald Trump,” Milley told Woodward, pointing to Trump’s fixation on retribution and his desire to punish critics.
The ad is part of a broader anti-LGBTQ+ strategy by Trump, which has intensified in recent months. In 2017, during his first term as president, Trump ignited outrage when he announced a ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military via a series of tweets. The ban reversed a 2016 policy under the Obama administration that allowed transgender people to serve openly. Trump’s ban remained in effect until President Joe Biden reversed the policy through an executive order in January 2021.
Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is not unique to his campaign. Weeks earlier, Hung Cao, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Virginia and a retired Navy captain endorsed by Trump, similarly criticized LGBTQ+ service members during a debate with incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine. Cao made headlines after lambasting military diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and claiming that such policies were responsible for recruitment struggles.
“When you’re using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that’s not the people we want,” Cao said during the debate. “What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat ’em, and ask for seconds. Those are young men and women that are going to win wars.”
LGBTQ+ rights groups condemned Cao’s comments as harmful and inaccurate, emphasizing that LGBTQ+ individuals have served in the military for decades and continue to serve honorably and effectively.
In addition to the backlash from military advocates, Trump’s use of Full Metal Jacket clips has drawn condemnation from the film’s stars. Matthew Modine, who played the lead character Private Joker in the movie, called Trump’s use of the film a “perverse, homophobic, and manipulative tool of propaganda” and compared Trump’s leadership to that of Adolf Hitler, Entertainment Weeklyreports.
Trump’s campaign has been increasingly focused on anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-trans rhetoric, part of a broader strategy to galvanize his base by framing transgender issues as a threat to traditional values. Over the past several weeks, Trump and his allies have aired ads in battleground states that attack transgender athletes, gender-affirming care, and public accommodations. Many of these ads, running during college sports events, feature inflammatory language designed to stoke fears of gender inclusivity.
