Trump's Promise to the LGBTQ Community a "Giant Con"

January 22, 2018

Equality Federation’s Executive Director Rebecca Isaacs provided commentary, analysis, and background information for this in-depth article from VOX about what a year under Trump has meant for the LGBTQ community.

In its first year, the Trump administration has tried to reinstate a ban on transgender people in the military. It has nominated multiple people to the courts and elsewhere who have anti-LGBTQ records. It has directed its army of federal lawyers to take the anti-LGBTQ side in court cases. And it has done some extraordinarily petty things, like refusing to recognize Pride Month….

Trump “doesn’t talk a lot about LGBTQ people,” Rebecca Isaacs, executive director of the LGBTQ rights group Equality Federation, told me. “But he’s done so many things that are as anti-LGBTQ as you could possibly be.” She added that they are things that might not seem “as clear as being anti–marriage equality,” but ultimately are anti-LGBTQ.

Read more

More You might like

Solidarity with Trans Kansans

The new anti-trans bill in Kansas is one of the most severe and harmful limits that we’ve seen on the freedom and civil rights of our community. We brought the power of our network to Kansas last week when 42 Equality Federation member organizations signed a letter of solidarity with transgender, nonbinary, intersex, and gender diverse Kansans affected by it.

June 12, 2025
HIV Is Not a Crime Awareness Day: A Conversation About Laws, Loss, Love, and the Village That Keeps Us Alive

In honor of HIV Is Not a Crime Awareness Day, we sat down with 3 Black LGBTQ+ leaders and executive directors whose state-based LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations successfully modernized or repealed HIV criminalization laws for a candid conversation about what it actually takes to win—and why victory can still feel incomplete.

June 12, 2025
A Look into Equality Texas’ Rainbow Rights Roadshow 🌈

It’s hard to be a queer or trans Texan right now, especially in deep-red rural areas. But Equality Texas has the answer: the Rainbow Rights Roadshow, a 15-stop tour of the state is a chance for LGBTQ+ Texans to connect, learn, advocate, and be in community.

June 12, 2025
A young man looking up, smilingA young man smiling straight at the camera
Confident young woman standing with crossed arms.

Want To Make A Difference? Support Our Work

With your support, we'll be able to continue our work to build the leaders of today and tomorrow, strengthen state-based LGBTQ+ organizations, and make critical progress on the issues that matter most—like protecting transgender people, ending HIV criminalization and ensuring access to care, and banning conversion therapy across the country.