Donald Trump’s 2016 remarks on transgender bathroom access have reappeared online, highlighting that he once criticized efforts to restrict trans people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity.
In the months before his first election win in November 2016, Trump was questioned about a North Carolina law that introduced rules he argued were unnecessary.
The measure barred transgender people from using bathrooms matching their gender identity in government-run facilities, including schools and universities.
During a Today town hall at the time, Trump pushed back on the approach, saying: “You leave it the way it is. There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate. There has been so little trouble.
“They’re paying a big price, and there’s a lot of problems.”
After returning to the White House for a second term in January 2025, Trump moved quickly to sign an executive order changing how sex is recorded on federal documents, limiting recognition to what it described as fixed categories.
The order states that the US government will recognize only two “immutable” genders, male and female.
“Across the country, ideologues who deny the biological reality of sex have increasingly used legal and other socially coercive means to permit men to self-identify as women,” the order states.
The executive order adds: “This is wrong. Accordingly, my Administration will defend women’s rights and protect freedom of conscience by using clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.”
Amid the policy shift, Caitlyn Jenner—who has long backed Trump—said she ended up seeking the president’s help after the changes created what she described as a personal safety concern.
Speaking on the Tomi Lahren is Fearless podcast, Jenner said her renewed passport listed her sex as “male,” and that the State Department would not amend it to “female.”
Jenner said she tried to bring the issue to Trump’s attention, but believes a letter she wrote did not reach him.
“Unfortunately, he wasn’t there that weekend. The Secret Service guy said he could get it to him, put it on his desk and stuff,” Jenner said.
“I haven’t heard from him. He’s kind of busy right now.”
She added that she remains supportive of the administration, saying: “My gender marker is not big on the issue, OK? So, I get that, and I’m not blaming him whatsoever. I love the guy, and I love what he’s doing.”