Trump slammed as he calls out Mike DeWine for vetoing ban on gender-affirming healthcare for trans minors

COLUMBUS, OHIO: On Saturday, December 30, former President Donald Trump chastised Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) for vetoing a proposed ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender adolescents.

Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, “DeWine has fallen to the Radical Left. No wonder he gets loudly booed in Ohio every time I introduce him at Rallies, but I won’t be introducing him any more. I’m finished with this “stiff.” What was he thinking. The bill would have stopped child mutilation, and prevented men from playing in women’s sports. Legislature will hopefully overturn. Do it FAST!!!”

What is particularly interesting about this direct attack from the former President against DeWine is that Trump had endorsed the Ohio Republican Governor in his reelection bid on September 7, 2022, after having decided against openly backing him in the state primary.

According to the Independent, Trump had said about DeWine at the time he “quietly, but professionally and patriotically, goes about doing his job.”

House Bill 68, more commonly referred to as the 'SAFE' Act, sought to prohibit transgender women and girls from participating in female sports teams, both in K-12 schools and in colleges and universities.

Why did Gov DeWine veto the ban?

On Friday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that he had spent the two weeks following the bill being presented to him on a "fact-finding mission," traveling around the Buckeye State and speaking with medical professionals and families of transgender children, according to a report by The Hill.

He also stated that he spoke with folks who are opposed to medical treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy.

DeWine said during his press conference, "Were I to sign House Bill 68, or were House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the state, that the government, knows better what is best for a child than the two people who know that child the best — the parents.”

He continued, "This is an issue that has people on both sides have great passion. The decisions that parents are making are not easy decisions. You know, they're just not. What we find in life, sadly, is that many times we are making decisions and neither alternative is sort of what we'd want, but we have to make a decision. And I just felt that there's no one better than the parents to make those decisions."

“These are truly complex issues, and reasonable people draw vastly different conclusions,” DeWine added. “This bill would impact a very small number of Ohio’s children, but for those children who face gender dysphoria, and for their families, the consequences of this could not be more profound.”

The Ohio Governor noted, “Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life. Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived — would be dead today — if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio’s children’s hospitals.”

He announced, “I cannot sign this bill as is currently written, and just a few minutes ago, I vetoed the bill.”

DeWine revealed that, in his conversations with families and physicians, he has discovered that most families are not seeking surgical options for gender-affirming care, but rather, hormone treatment.

It was noted that all parties agreed that gender-affirming care should be a process that includes mental health counseling.

Additionally, it was stated that no one should be allowed to seek treatment without first undergoing counseling.

Governor DeWine further noted that, based on his discussions with children's hospitals, approximately two-thirds of children who underwent consultations ultimately decided not to pursue medication treatment.

The Republican Governor said that these findings suggested to him that gender-affirming care is a complex process that requires careful consideration and counseling before any decisions are made.

"What you learn is everybody agrees there needs to be a process and a focus on mental health," DeWine noted.

Governor DeWine's recent decision to veto the bill has put him at odds with many of his Republican counterparts both in Ohio and across the nation.

The legislation in question sought to outlaw gender-affirming healthcare for minors, a move that has been replicated in several red states.

The Ohio Legislature can only override a governor's veto with a three-fifths majority vote in both the House and Senate, and it remains unclear whether such a majority will be reached.

Governor DeWine has recognized that his decision will be unpopular with his many Republican peers, but as Ohio's chief executive, he said, "the buck stops with me on this."

"The Ohio way is to approach things in a systematic manner, to follow the evidence, to be careful, and that's really what we're doing. And if Ohio, if we do this, which I fully intend us to do, I think we will set up a model for other states," he stated.

Per CBS News, the Human Rights Campaign, a leading LGBTQ advocacy group, welcomed DeWine's decision.

Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said, "Ohio families don't want politicians meddling in decisions that should be between parents, their kids and their doctors. Instead, parents, schools and doctors should all do everything they can to make all youth, including transgender youth, feel loved and accepted, and politicians should not be making it harder for them to do so. Thank you to Gov DeWine for listening to the people of his state and making the right decision for young trans Ohioans."

Internet mocks Trump's attack on Ohio Governor he endorsed just a year ago

People on X trolled the former President after he put out the incendiary Truth Social post regarding DeWine's decision to veto the SAFE Act on Friday.

One X user remarked, "Too little too late."

Another wrote, "He endorsed him!"

Someone else asked, "Didn’t Trump endorse this clown? (A rhetorical question.)"

One user stated, "Mike DeWine finally takes the correct moral position, and Trump and his Fascist propagandists disapprove. Figures. Love how Trumpers tout the importance of parental rights only when it suits their hatred and prejudices."

Another X user asked, "Who was it who endorsed DeWine in the 2022 midterms?"

"Hmm. Trump endorsed him too. Go figure," someone else said.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.