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Tweets About Trump's Ban On Transgender People In The Military Show Why It's So Bad

Olivier Douliery-Pool via Getty Images

President Donald Trump's announcement, regarding a ban on transgender people serving in America's armed forces, quickly prompted a wave of reactions. Within that wave, there are separate, sub groups of reactions that spoke from different points of view. One example? Many media members immediately pointed out that thousands of transgender people already serve in the military.

Others, including politicians, questioned the morality of Trump's decision.

Meanwhile, some turned the attention on Trump's own military record.

Most interestingly, though, a number of journalists and political writers pointed out the weirdest part about Trump's announcement.

It was sloppy -- and contradicted his own Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD has been reported to have been carefully reviewing policies related to transgender service in the military.

Just days ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that the military was planning to avoid banning transgender service members. Within that report, the president of a LBGTQ+ organization for military spouses even expressed relief.

Ashley Broadway-Mack, president of the American Military Partner Association, told the Journal,

Our transgender service members and their families are breathing a huge sigh of relief. Soon, anyone who is qualified will finally be able to serve our great nation, regardless of their gender identity.

On Thursday, after Trump's tweets about transgender service members, multiple reporters indicated the Pentagon had no idea Trump would make such an announcement.

Axios reporter Jonathan Swan did offer one explanation, though, quoting a Trump administration official who indicated the president's tweet storm was all about politics, saying,

This forces Democrats in Rust Belt states like Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin, to take complete ownership of this issue. How will the blue collar voters in these states respond when senators up for re-election in 2018 like Debbie Stabenow are forced to make their opposition to this a key plank of their campaigns?

In any event, Trump's announcement does not appear to be linked to any conclusive policy change. That is just one of the reasons the president's Twitter declaration has been pointed out as problematic.