Trump Praises 'LGBT' Pride Month, But is Criticized for Administration's Treatment of Transgender People

President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon sent a tweet to recognize and celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month, making him the first Republican president to recognize the event. However, many on social media were quick to remind Trump of his administration's treatment of their community, and of transgender Americans in particular.

His public support for the LGBTQ community in the last two weeks, which included 'LGBTQ for Trump' t-shirts, comes about a month and a half after the Department of Defense implemented its hard stance against transgender personnel from entering the military.

Trump tweeted on Friday, "As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation. My Administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and invite all nations to join us in this effort!"

As many Twitter users immediately pointed out, many in the LGBTQ community have not felt that "solidarity" with the Trump administration. The president's ban on transgender people from entering military service — excluding those who have already served as transgender and have already been diagnosed for the gender claim and received hormone treatments, according to NBC News — was repeatedly cited as a problem in responses to the tweet.

Twitter user JRehling said the president has forgotten what the 'T' is for, and said Trump had already declared 'war' on transgenders.

"Maybe someone smarter than you can tell you what the "T" in LGBT stands for.

"You're the enemy of these people. You already declared war on them. They won't forget."

The Twitter handle Party of Reason and Progress wrote, "I can't believe Mr. Ban Trans from the military had the balls to post this."

Remembering those we left behind asked, "I wonder how our LGBT Americans serving in or recently involuntarily discharged from the military feel about this?"

Twitter user Scott Donnelly came up with his own acronym for LGBT.

"Someone tell our Commander in Chief that LGBT doesn't stand for "Let's Get Behind Trump." He seems confused."

In addition to the transgender military ban, the Trump administration has taken other steps to roll back protections for transgender Americans that had been put in place over the last decade. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos recently testifiedthat she rescinded protections for transgender students despite knowing of the potential harms that could result. Trump is also reportedly looking to once again start providing federal funds to adoption agencies that reject same-sex couples as potential adoptive parents.

Last week, the Trump-Pence campaign began selling campaign-related shirts targeted at the LGBTQ community. They did not go over well.

"This is a heartless attack on some of the most vulnerable people in our society," Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said in a statement to USA Today at the time. "The programs impacted by this rule are life-saving for transgender people, particularly youth rejected by their families, and a lack of stable housing fuels the violence and abuse that takes the lives of many transgender people of color across the country."