During an on-camera White House press briefing Wednesday, questions about the President’s announced ban on transgender individuals serving in the military dominated the discussion.
After press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders answered at least 10 different questions about President Donald Trump’s rationale for the new policy, Sanders threatened to end the briefing early if “those are the only questions we have.”
The final straw came when April Ryan of the American Urban Radio Networks asked what the White House might say to members of the transgender community who may lose their health care and who are “scared” because of what is happening right now.
“As I’ve said before, and I’ll try to make this clear, this was a military decision. This was about military readiness. This is about unit cohesion. This was about resources within the military and nothing more,” Sanders said. “Guys, I really don’t have anything else to add on that topic. As I do, I’ll keep you posted. But if those are the only questions we have, I’m going to call it a day.”
The barrage of questions came after Trump announced on Twitter Wednesday morning that he would not allow transgender individuals to serve in the military in “any capacity” because of the military “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”
Huckabee Sanders on transgender military ban: "If those are the only questions we have, I'm gonna call it a day." https://t.co/k9uQPYlZyc
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) July 26, 2017
Huckleberry’s worst performance yet.
What a bunch of amateurs.
this entire administration is the most incompetent organization in the history of the planet.
Oh boo hoo, Sarah. You took the job. Do it.
This was definitively not a military decision. The Pentagon didn’t even know the decision was being made, and referred all questions back to the White House.
I read somewhere, maybe here, that transgendered surgery in the military was a sticking point in the House military spending bill with moderates not wanting to make it illegal, so Trump just took it off the table.
It was a political decision, not one regarding military readiness.
What do trans people have to do with the economic anguish of the white, working class? Isn’t that why Trump won?