TV ad aims to pressure Trump on transgender military service
WASHINGTON — Activist groups are turning to television ads, including on President Donald Trump's go-to network, Fox News, to pressure the White House into allowing transgender people to keep serving in the military.
Trump has pledged to ban transgender troops from serving. He'll be able to see the 30-second commercial as of Friday, when it starts airing on Fox, CNN and MSNBC morning shows. It uses a series of quotes from Trump, a former senior military leader and several Congress members who were in the armed forces to argue that all qualified Americans should be able to serve.
“An impulsive president tweets that transgender Americans won't be allowed to serve,” the ad says. “But decorated military leaders say there's no reason to single out these brave heroes.” An earlier version described Trump as “unfit,” rather than “impulsive.”
Sarah Mcbride, Human Rights Campaign's spokeswoman, said it's a “critical window of time” to take the fight directly to the White House.
The White House had no immediate comment.
The issue has become mired in a complicated string of political statements, court decisions and policy reviews since Trump first stunned his administration with tweets last July declaring that the government would ban transgender individuals from serving in the military. He later asked Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to send him a recommendation on how to proceed. That memo was delivered to Trump last week. The White House has said that a quick decision is unlikely.
Three federal courts have ruled against the ban, and the Pentagon responded by allowing those serving to stay in the military. It then began allowing transgender individuals to enlist beginning Jan. 1.