Elaine Godfrey, a journalist for The Atlantic who has covered former President Donald Trump for years, is no stranger to his false statements. However, a recent speech by Trump at a Moms for Liberty summit left her more bewildered than usual.
In a piece reflecting on the event, Godfrey admitted that Trump’s claim during his speech was so outlandish that she “look[ed] around in confusion at the people near me in the audience” to see if anyone else was equally perplexed.
The statement that caused Godfrey’s reaction was Trump’s assertion that public schools were essentially forcing students to undergo gender reassignment surgeries without parental consent. “The transgender thing is incredible,” Trump said during his speech. “Think of it; your kid goes to school, and he comes home a few days later with an operation. The school decides what’s going to happen with your child.”
Godfrey took it upon herself to debunk the claim, clarifying that public schools are not performing such procedures on students. “Schools are not providing sex-change operations to students,” she writes. “Even from a purely financial perspective, that seems obvious: Teachers still have to buy their own crayons; schools aren’t shelling out for surgeons.”
She further explained that educators have no authority to make medical decisions for students. “Educators are not deciding ‘what’s going to happen’ with students, beyond subjecting them to a pop quiz or an in-school suspension,” Godfrey added.
In her analysis, Godfrey also highlighted the broader implications of Trump’s rhetoric, describing it as “a dangerous, unstable dog whistle to the QAnon followers in his party, who have long argued that Democrats are sexualizing children.” This kind of rhetoric, she warns, taps into conspiracy theories that have already fueled significant misinformation and fear among certain segments of the population.
As Trump continues to make such claims, Godfrey’s reaction reflects the growing concern among critics about the former president’s willingness to spread misinformation that plays into the fears and suspicions of his base.