Despite millions gathered in Washington, D.C. for WorldPride, one of the world’s largest LGBTQ festivities, the Trump administration decided not to officially recognize Pride Month this year. Instead, it has escalated policies and rhetoric that LGBTQ supporters characterize as unfriendly.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Tuesday that President Trump has “no plans” to issue a proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month, continuing a trend from his previous term, during which he issued no formal proclamations. The only notable acknowledgment came in 2019, when Trump posted on social media in support of global decriminalization of homosexuality and praised “the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great nation.”
This year, the administration has maintained a public silence on Pride Month. However, the Department of Education stated on Monday that it would designate June as “Title IX Month,” outlining efforts to apply the 1972 civil rights statute in ways that limit transgender students’ participation in girls’ and women’s sports, as well as their access to gender-aligned facilities.
“This is going to come as maybe tough news for the Trump administration to stomach, but June is Pride Month, whether they choose to acknowledge that or not,” said Brandon Wolf, National Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group. “And Pride is, and always has been, a protest, whether they choose to acknowledge that or not.”
Beyond the White House, Republican politicians have taken steps to oppose Pride Month. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.), a staunch Trump supporter, introduced a resolution designating June as “Family Month,” in stark contrast to Pride Month.
“By recognizing June as Family Month, we reject the lie of ‘Pride’ and instead honor God’s timeless and perfect design,” Miller told The Daily Wire, a conservative media outlet.
Republican senators, including Miller, also denounced a Pride recognition by the children’s show Sesame Street, accusing PBS of “grooming” children, a long-used and highly disproved cliché used to denigrate LGBTQ people.
“This hostile rhetoric, the lengths to which they’ve gone to punish people for existing as LGBTQ, all of it is a testament to just how much our power scares them,” Wolf said. His comments came as Washington, D.C., hosts WorldPride, expected to draw millions from around the world.
During the first week of Pride Month, the Department of Defense perhaps made the biggest measures within the Trump administration.
According to Military.com, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized Navy Secretary John Phelan to rename an oil tanker after Harvey Milk, a renowned homosexual rights activist and former Navy sailor. The decision, which is likely to be publicly announced during Pride Month, has sparked widespread outcry.
“I don’t agree with it,” said retired Adm. James Stavridis, speaking Friday on The Michael Smerconish Program. “Why do we need to rename this ship at this moment?”
Milk served as a Navy lieutenant during the Korean War before becoming California’s first openly gay political politician in 1977. He helped defeat a 1978 proposal that tried to exclude LGBTQ people from teaching in public schools.
The Navy is also considering names for other ships honoring civil rights luminaries such as Harriet Tubman, Thurgood Marshall, and Lucy Stone. According to CBS News, Senate Republicans recently voted down a Democratic-backed motion urging the Defense Department to preserve these identities.
In another controversial move, the Pentagon reportedly ordered transgender service members to self-identify and begin voluntary separation from the military by Friday, another action taking place during Pride Month.
Former Defense Department official Alex Wagner, now a professor at Syracuse University, harshly criticized Hegseth’s approach.
“Hegseth’s recent actions targeting Pride Month and LGBTQ people at the Pentagon have made him look petty and silly,” said Wagner, who organized the Pentagon’s first Pride event in 2012.
“There is absolutely no question… that the greatest engine for social justice and civil rights in American history is the U.S. military,” Wagner said. “To denigrate the service of those who sought a career serving the country… is evidence of someone who has not the right experience, not the right insight.”
Since taking office, Hegseth, a former Fox News commentator and Army veteran, has vocally opposed military diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. In February, he declared, “I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is, ‘our diversity is our strength,’” during a speech at the Pentagon.
Shortly after his Senate confirmation, Hegseth eliminated the Defense Department’s recognition of all identity-based observances, including Pride Month, Black History Month, and Women’s History Month. He later issued internal guidance titled “Identity Months Dead at DoD,” stating, “Efforts to divide the force to put one group ahead of another – erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution.”
