Americans support Trump plan to remove transgender people from US military: poll

A majority of American voters support President Donald Trump’s decision to remove transgender-identifying individuals from the US military, according to a new survey by Rasmussen Reports.

The poll found that 54 percent of likely voters approve of Trump’s decision, including 38 percent who strongly approve. Meanwhile, 41 percent disapprove of the policy.

Trump signed the executive order last month, determining that individuals with a “gender identity” contradicting their biological sex are unable to meet the necessary standards for military service. The order bars transgender-identifying individuals from enlisting and serving openly.

“Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,” the order stated. “A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”

“For the sake of our Nation and the patriotic Americans who volunteer to serve it, military service must be reserved for those mentally and physically fit for duty.  The Armed Forces must adhere to high mental and physical health standards to ensure our military can deploy, fight, and win, including in austere conditions and without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions,” it continued.

The move is part of Trump’s broader effort to eliminate “radical gender ideology” from government institutions. It follows other initiatives, including a ban on biological males competing in women’s sports and an order making it official policy for the federal government to recognize only two sexes, male and female.