Donald Trump rants about schools turning ‘Tim’ to ‘Sally’ in bizarre midterms pitch

Two days before the U.S. midterm elections, President Donald Trump once again falsely told a rally crowd that schools in blue states were stealing children away and transitioning their genders. The late midterms pitch underscored just how much Republicans have invested in a strategy of targeting youth— and some critics say it also shows Trump’s rhetoric losing touch with reality.

The widely debunked claim came during at a Nov. 1 rally in Iowa, home to a critical Senate race. In Dubuque, he told the hypothetical story of a school-age child who unexpected turns from a boy named Tim to a girl named Sally — a talking point that has shown up in Trump’s speeches with regularity since the 2024 presidential election.

“Think of it, your beautiful son leaves the house. His name is Tim,” Trump said. “Goodbye, Tim. I’ll see you. Thank you, mommy. Thank you. And you don't see Tim for four days. Four days later, Tim comes back as Sally.”

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The story drew laughs at the crowd, but Trump insisted it was true. “No, we have states that are allowed to do that,” he said.

Progressive commentators reminded their audiences that the story isn’t grounded in fact at all.

“Somebody please get him the help he so desperately needs. He is hallucinating again, clearly deteriorating mentally,” posted Words Matter podcast co-host Norman Orenstein.

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The Trump administration has pushed policies requiring trans students to be outed to families, even when there are concerns about an intolerant home environment.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon has repeatedly claimed school districts were secretly transitioning children without parents’ knowledge, including alleging in July on national television that there is “evidence that there are certain schools in certain counties that are encouraging transitions for kids and hiding it from the parents.”

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The Education Department under McMahon has, in partnership with the Justice Department, taken legal action against schools in Maryland, Michigan, and Kansas.

But there is no evidence schools anywhere in the country are transitioning children against their will.

At the same Iowa rally, Trump made several other false claims, including that he won Minnesota three times, when he actually lost the state all three times he ran for President. He also appeared to support conspiracy theories Spencer Pratt won an election but had it stolen for Mayor of Los Angeles, a hoax debunked by political experts on the left and right.