Trump Divides Social Media with ‘Only Two Genders’ Decree in Polarizing Inauguration Speech

And while the proceedings began fairly normal — outside of the inauguration’s unique location — things took a very, well, Trumpish turn when the now 47th president took to the podium to deliver his inaugural address.

In addition to promising to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America — a top priority for the president — Trump made a promise that elicited shock online and applause from his supporters when he declared that there will be only two genders recognized in the United States going forward: Male and Female.

This slight to the LGBTQ+ community, trans folks in particular, was explained prior to Trump’s address in statement from a White House official who said that in practical terms, official documents going forward would be be forced to “reflect sex accurately.”

“No longer will the federal government be promoting gender ideology,” the official said.

The government would also only recognize two genders — male and female — ending official policies that recognized a third gender, denoted by an “X” on US passports for example.

“What we’re doing today is defining that it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes: male and female,” the official said.

Under the executive order, which Trump promises to sign making this declaration official, prisons and settings such as shelters for migrants and rape victims would be segregated by sex, based on this criteria.

The order would also block requirements at government facilities and at workplaces that transgender people be referred to using the pronouns that align with their gender.

Trump’s team claims those requirements violate the First Amendment’s freedom of speech and religion.

The president also promised to take a deep dive into diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and end their federal funding.

As part of this, officials said there would be a monthly meeting of relevant agencies to assess any DEI programs and whether they should be shut down.

As anticipated, the “two genders” declaration blew up on social media, with strong reactions coming down on both sides of the aisle from smugness and joy to shock and outrage.