International
oi-Amit Vasudev
Donald
Trump
has
urged
the
United
States
Congress
to
“permanently
ban
and
criminalise
sex
change
on
children” as
part
of
his
wider
campaign
to
eradicate
“wokeness”-defined
as
awareness
of
social
injustice
and
discrimination-from
civil
society
and
the
military.
In
a
joint
address
on
Tuesday
evening
(local
time),
Trump
continued
his
attacks
on
sexual
diversity
in
schools,
workplaces,
and
the
armed
forces.
President
Donald
Trump
His
remarks
built
upon
his
earlier
January
declaration
that
the
“US
will
recognise
only
two
genders” and
his
frequent
criticism
of
transgender
individuals
and
gender-affirming
care
for
minors.
“I
want
Congress
to
pass
a
bill
permanently
banning
and
criminalising
sex
changes
on
children…
and
forever
ending
the
lie
that
any
child
is
trapped
in
the
wrong
body.
This
is
a
big
lie
and
our
message
to
every
child
in
America
is,
‘you
are
perfect
exactly
the
way
God
made
you’.”
He
further
declared:
“Because
we
are
getting
wokeness
out
of
our
schools
and
out
of
our
military…
and
it’s
already
out
and
it
is
out
of
our
society.
We
don’t
want
it.
Wokeness
is
trouble.
Wokeness
is
bad.
It’s
gone
and
we
feel
so
much
better
for
it,
don’t
we?
Don’t
we
feel
better?” He
added,
“Our
service
members
won’t
be
activists
and
ideologues.
They
will
be
warriors.
They
will
fight
for
our
country.”
During
what
was
described
as
a
lengthy
and
disjointed
address,
Trump
also
asserted
that
he
had
“removed
the
poison
of
critical
race
theory”
from
public
schools.
He
was
referring
to
an
academic
framework
that
examines
how
racial
bias
is
structurally
embedded
in
social,
legal,
and
economic
institutions.
Critical
Race
Theory
(CRT)
has
been
a
major
point
of
contention
during
Trump’s
second
administration,
with
several
states
having
already
banned
its
teaching.
Opponents
argue
that
CRT
unfairly
portrays
all
white
people
as
oppressors.
However,
scholars
have
clarified
that
CRT
does
not
assign
blame
to
individuals
or
groups
but
instead
highlights
the
broader
societal
responsibility
to
address
historical
injustices.
Trump’s
speech
included
several
contentious
statements,
including
his
vow
to
end
the
“tyranny” of
diversity
and
inclusion
programmes.
He
also
addressed
trade
policies,
referencing
the
tariff
war
his
administration
has
initiated.
He
specifically
mentioned
India
in
this
context,
stating:
“Other
countries
have
used
tariffs
against
us
for
decades
now.
On
an
average,
many
nations…
India,
Mexico
and
Canada,
they
charge
us
tremendously
higher
tariffs
than
we
charge
them.”
“This
situation
is
not
fair
to
the
US.
So
from
April
2,
reciprocal
tariffs
kick
in.
Whatever
they
tax
us,
we
will
tax
them,” he
announced,
receiving
enthusiastic
applause
from
Republican
Congress
members.
Experts
have
cautioned
that
escalating
tariff
disputes
could
hinder
US
economic
growth
and
contribute
to
rising
inflation.
