LGBTQ+ Americans are going back in the closet under Donald Trump: report

LGBTQ+ people are going back into the closet during Donald Trump's second term as queer visibility decreases across the board, new research has found.

Nearly half of LGBTQ+ adults (47.5 percent) report being less out somewhere in their lives over the last 12 months, according to the Annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey from the Human Rights Campaign, including workplaces (26.5 percent), healthcare (25.4 percent), and public spaces (28.3 percent).

Over half of LGBTQ+ workers (57.4 percent) with employers that ended or scaled back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) reported experiencing stigma and bias at work. This stigma appears to be increasing in all areas, as 51.1 percent of queer adults report being less visible than last year, and 40.1 percent of LGBTQ+ parents with school-aged children report being less visible at schools.

“Trump and his allies made no secret about their plans; they laid it out for all to see in Project 2025,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement. “Over the past year, his Administration has pushed forward efforts to eliminate civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ Americans — with funding cuts, regulatory changes, and bullying from the bully pulpit. Now, LGBTQ+ Americans are deeply hurting."

Related: Project 2025 vowed to roll back LGBTQ+ rights. Here's everything Trump has done so far

LGBTQ+ adults were also nearly twice as likely to say that their financial situation has worsened over the past 12 months compared to non-LGBTQ+ adults. This has impacted their access to health care, as those on Medicare or Medicaid are now more than two times more likely to report barriers to HIV prevention or treatment than LGBTQ+ adults with another form of insurance.

Some first-year Trump administration policies detailed in the report as negatively impacting LGBTQ+ people include:

• Ending federal recognition of transgender and nonbinary people by claiming they do not exist
• Ordering all government entities, including the U.S. Census Bureau, to stop collecting data on LGBTQ+ people
• Rescinding federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people through the DOJ, HHS, ED, and EEOC
• Banning trans people from serving in the military
• Cancelling hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants
• Signing executive orders targeting trans youth's access to health care, inclusion in sports, and bathroom usage

"Still, for all the pain Trump has caused, the LGBTQ+ community’s resilience drives our power," Robinson continued. "Together, we continue to fight for a future in which everyone has the freedom to be who they are. I, for one, believe that, together, we will come through this stronger, more united, and victorious.”