Assessing the Danger of Donald Trump

​Ever since November 5, I’ve been paying very, very close attention to my deeper layers, listening for any wisdom that will teach me how to live in Trump World. A lot of good, clear insights—sometimes sobering, sometimes liberating—have come to mind.

​One, however, has haunted me for quite a while: the fact that I may be in danger.

I first made the case for this in January. To summarize:

• I am nonbinary—which I’m sure Mr. Trump would label trans, though there’s a distinction.
• I write frequently about gender identity.
• Project 2025, the MAGA “promise to America,” has pledged to delete every mention of gender identity from every corner of the federal government (see page 5 of the Foreword).
• The rhetoric around gender identity has heated up to dangerous levels. The Trump campaign’s TV ad “Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you” uses caricature and out-of-context photos to persuade its audience that trans and gender non-conforming people are weird, repugnant, totally “other.” Project 2025 has conflated “transgender ideology” with “pornography” and the “sexualization of children” (again, page 5 of the Foreword). As I mentioned in my January post, Trump has proclaimed that “under my leadership, this madness will end” (00:55 of the video).

So how much danger are we talking?

I have to say the risk to me is low. This is a very large country—by area, by population, and by sheer social media volume—and it may be difficult for the Trump administration to even find me in all those layers. I am very small potatoes, so they may not care about me. You’d think that would keep me safe.

But low risk is not no risk. What’s more, my “low risk” does nothing to protect the trans and gender non-conforming loved ones I so cherish.

Maybe, maybe, I could get my brain to calm down about this. But then I read this Medium article from Dana DuBois, a writer who’s a parent of a gender-conforming kid. She writes way more about gender than I do. She has done her homework and assessed the risk.

She’s sounding alarm bells.

Now, I don’t consider myself brave. But I can’t imagine changing how much I write about gender, because I feel a calling to it (as to the other things in my life). Dana DuBois has pledged not to give up her writing.

This exercise is essential for many of us, I think. We can’t possibly know what Mr. Trump will do. One way we can be ready is if we pay very, very close attention and assess it all with a clear mind—without letting him fill our headspace in ways that damage our mental health. A tall order, I know, but I’ll be working on it.

Will you? Do you need to? It’s worth considering.