Count House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is among those “appalled” by President Donald Trump’s decision to ban transgender recruits from enlisting in the military.
During an appearance at the 2017 GLAAD San Francisco Gala Saturday, Pelosi (D-Calif.) delivered an impassioned speech in which she took Trump to task over his stance on LGBTQ issues, including the controversial trans ban.
“I was appalled when President Trump decided to ban transgender men and women from serving in our armed forces,” she told the crowd, as seen in the video above. “It’s a move that hurts and humiliates the thousands of Americans who serve in our military with strength and courage. All of us must respect than transgender Americans who have the patriotism and the bravery to serve our country in uniform must be respected.”
Pelosi, 77, didn’t stop there, noting that the queer community, among other minority groups, was “facing new assaults on their rights from the White House” on a regular basis.
“People say to me over time, ‘Oh, you’re from San Francisco, it’s easy for you to be so tolerant,’” she said. “‘Tolerant’ is a condescending word to me. This isn’t about tolerance. This is about respect. This is about taking pride.”
She added, “In the last decade, we’ve made tremendous progress, but since the election, we’ve seen that the journey is far from over. Prejudice is boldly showing its ugly face.”
Pelosi’s remarks echo those she made in July, immediately after Trump surprised the Pentagon and announced the ban on trans service members in a series of tweets.
The president’s decision was “driven not by honor, dignity or national security,” she wrote at the time, “but by raw prejudice.”
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