Congressman: Trump Using Fear of Trans People for Political Gains

President Donald Trump's ban on transgender people serving on the military is using fear of the transgender community as a way to "score political points," according to Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

The congressman, a veteran of the Iraq War, called Trump an "impotent leader" and slammed the president and the ban in a series of Wednesday tweets.

1. Banning any qualified person from serving their country, because of who they are is both discriminatory and bad national security policy.

— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) July 26, 2017

2. @realDonaldTrump will never understand complex military needs. He doesn't have the experience or intellectual capacity to learn.

— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) July 26, 2017

3. It is also ironic that @realDonaldTrump who did everything to avoid Vietnam is stopping Trans people who want to serve.

— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) July 26, 2017

4. Lets look what is going on here. @realDonaldTrump is an impotent leader. He is using fear of Trans community to score political points.

— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) July 26, 2017

5. Make sense now why @realDonaldTrump admires Putin. Both use fear of LGBTQ community to keep control of their base.

— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) July 26, 2017

Trump announced the ban in a series of tweets Wednesday.

A defense official told The Wall Street Journal that Trump's tweet surprised the Department of Defense.

"The tweet was the first we heard about it," the official said.

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