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The Trump administration has targeted transgender people as a central tenet of its approach to government. Soon after Donald Trump’s inauguration, transgender American citizens who tried to renew their passports found that the government was insisting on misgendering them. Trump has also banned transgender troops from serving in the U.S. military and pulled federal funding from universities that allow transgender students to participate in athletics.

Such attacks have serious consequences, including influencing people once thought to be allies to transgender people, such as California Governor Gavin Newsom. Newsom, who has been interviewing right-wing, pro-Trump white supremacists on his new podcast, recently declared his opposition to transgender students participating in athletics.

A transgender college student from Southern California who is studying art history at a university on the East Coast spoke with YES! Senior Editor Sonali Kolhatkar on YES! Presents: Rising Up With Sonali about the seriousness of Trump’s attacks. He used the pseudonym “Owen” to protect his identity for fear of retaliation.