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Thoughts and prayers for Caitlyn Jenner. It seems that it’s starting to dawn on the Olympian and reality TV star that being a rich, white, Maga supporter doesn’t entirely shield her from Donald Trump’s transphobic policies.
What sparked that realization? Was it the millions of dollars spent by the Trump campaign on anti-trans ads during the 2024 election? Was it, perhaps, the fact that one of Trump’s very first acts in his second term, conducted just hours after he took office, was to sign an executive order which stated that government-issued identification documents would be changed to reflect the holder’s “immutable biological classification as either male or female”, defined by a person’s cells at conception – in other words, your passport would reflect the sex you were assigned at birth?
No, it seems Jenner, who publicly came out as transgender in 2015, shrugged all that off. Not her problem! But she got a little bit worried when Trump’s actions directly impacted her. Specifically, when she recently renewed her passport and it came back marked “male”, not “female”. Speaking on the conservative Tomi Lahren is Fearless podcast this month, Jenner said she thought it was a mistake and tried to get it corrected. But, no, it came back marked as male again. Just as Trump specified in his executive order.
“This is a safety factor. I can’t travel internationally anymore, I can’t use my passport,” Jenner whined to Lahren, who looked like she couldn’t care less. “I’m trying to figure out at this point what to do,” Jenner continued. “I don’t blame President Trump. I love him, but for a lot of people, this is a huge issue.”
Apparently, Jenner has been trying to get in contact with the president to get this little snafu sorted but he’s ghosting her. “I haven’t heard from him,” Jenner said. “He’s kind of busy right now. My gender marker is not big on the issue [list].” She added: “I’m not blaming him whatsoever. I love the guy, and I love what he’s doing.” She concluded: “I don’t think this was really thought out, what this means.”
Oh, it was thought out, Caitlyn. It was definitely thought out. Trump reneges on a lot of his promises (remember when he promised not to start any new wars?), but he’s kept his word when it comes to his anti-trans policies. None of this should come as any surprise. Particularly as it’s not like Trump hasn’t disappointed Jenner before. In 2017, Jenner told Trump that his decision to revoke federal guidelines specifying that transgender students had the right to use public school restrooms that matched their gender identity was a “disaster”. She still went on to support him in 2024, however. Got to chase those tax breaks.
You’ve got to be good at mental gymnastics to be a Trump supporter, but the amount of cognitive dissonance here is alarming. Did Jenner seriously think that she would suffer no blowback for supporting a man who has made his contempt for trans people clear?
Perhaps. Jenner isn’t the only person to think that they’ll be magically exempt from Trump’s cruelty. Back in 2019, the New York Times interviewed people in a Florida town that had been hurt by a hurricane and a Trump administration-instigated government shutdown. “I voted for [Trump], and he’s the one who’s doing this,” a woman called Crystal Minton complained. “I thought he was going to do good things. He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.” That quote went viral because it captured the essence of Trumpism. Many people seem to support the president not because they think he’ll help them, but because he has promised to hurt their “enemies”.
Now that Jenner is personally hurting, will she change her mind about Trump? We’ll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, keep trying the president’s cellphone, Caitlyn! He’s a very busy boy, but maybe one of these days he’ll get back to you.
The inflatable penis protester is free
One of the stupidest trials in recent times has just come to an end. Last October, 62-year-old Renea Gamble was arrested at a No Kings protest in Fairhope, Alabama, for wearing a 7ft-tall inflatable penis costume and holding a sign that read “No Dick Tator.” Gamble argued that the case was about free speech. The city attorney said that the case was about public safety; apparently Gamble’s costume was a safety hazard to herself and others. She faced the possibility of six months in prison. Now, after the city wasted taxpayer money taking this to court, Gamble has been found not guilty.
Trump’s new acting navy secretary is worried about ‘witchcraft’
The Trump administration fired John Phelan, its top naval official, on Wednesday. Apparently, defence secretary Pete Hegseth didn’t like him, and there was a clash of opinions on shipbuilding reforms. Phelan has been replaced by Hung Cao, a Vietnamese refugee who has criticized DEI and joked about wearing a KKK hood. In 2023, during an unsuccessful run for the Senate in Virginia, he also claimed that witches had “taken over” the city of Monterey, California.
Israeli strike kills Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil while she was doing her job
After striking a house where Khalil was sheltering, Israel blocked rescuers from getting to her. This was all during a supposed “ceasefire”. The Israeli military has said it does not target journalists, but the numbers suggest otherwise: a record 129 press members were killed in 2025 and Israel was responsible for two-thirds of those deaths.
Russell Brand says he had ‘exploitative’ consensual sex with teenager
“I did sleep with a 16-year-old when I was 30, Brand said on the YouTube show of the US journalist Megyn Kelly. “When I was 30, I was a very different person. I was a lot younger, and I was an immature 30-year-old.” Brand will be tried in the autumn over allegations of rape and sexual assault made against him by six women, which he denies.
Lawmakers mulling over whether Ghislaine Maxwell deserves a pardon
Maxwell is the only person currently in prison for her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. And she might not be in prison for long if she has her way: Maxwell has said she wants clemency in exchange for her cooperation with the House Oversight Committee’s Epstein investigation. Committee chair James Comer told Politico on Wednesday that, while he disagreed, “a lot of people” believed it was worth pardoning Maxwell in exchange for her cooperation.
What is the burned haystack dating method?
The method has gone viral but it’s basically just blocking anyone who doesn’t seem like a match.
The week in pawtriarchy
A US navy sailor headed to the strait of Hormuz for Trump’s “shoot and kill” mission was medically evacuated after being scratched by a monkey while ashore in Thailand. Even the animal kingdom thinks Trump has gone bananas.
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Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
