Photo by Sean Robinson.Subscribe nowHey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go, protestors chanted in the middle of Times Square, among a sea of signs that read love reigns not kings, gays against faux-king Trump, we stand with our trans family and the future is coming.On Saturday, independent analysts estimated that the No Kings March drew between 5 and 8 million people, and organizers say over 7 million people attended 2,700 events across all 50 states. The event, which was organized to push against the rise of authoritarianism in the U.S., was the largest single-day protest in America since 1970.Over 100,000 New Yorkers marched in all five boroughs in NYC on Saturday. Photo by Jelinda Montes.Among the crowd were countless LGBTQ people, fighting back against an administration that has introduced a litany of anti-LGBTQ executive orders and used vile rhetoric to denigrate queer people. This backsliding of LGBTQ rights, according to experts, has a deep connection to authoritarianism, with research showing that when governments weaken protections for queer and trans people, they often turn to broader democratic institutions next.Threats to democratic institutions and threats to LGBTQ rights are mutually reinforcing, generating a vicious cycle that strengthens authoritarian control, Ari Shaw, director of International Programs at the Williams Institute, told Uncloseted Media. Increased persecution of minority groups, including LGBTI people, is itself evidence of democratic backsliding by indicating the erosion of liberal democratic norms [meant to protect] minority rights.Legal Abuse of PowerOne of the ways the Trump administrations abuse of power has been most evident is through its legal actions.On Jan. 20, Trump signed 26 executive orders, the most signed by any president on their first day. Since then, hes penned hundreds of additional executive ordersmore than President Joe Biden signed during his entire four-year term. In many cases, he bypassed Congress in the process, leaving elected legislators on the sidelines. Many of these actions have been in an effort to roll back LGBTQ rights. Trump has used executive orders to ban transgender people from serving in the military, limit participation of transgender students in school sports and direct federal agencies to recognize only two sexes.Hes also slashed HIV funding at a staggering rate. Uncloseted Media estimates that the National Institutes of Health has terminated more than $1 billion worth of grants to HIV-related research, including 71% of all global HIV grants.Jeffrey Cipriano at the NYC No Kings protest Saturday. Photo by Jelinda Montes.It was these cuts that prompted Brooklynite Jeffrey Cipriano to turn out to protest. The specific reason that Im protesting is actually on the shirt Im wearing, says Cipriano.My best friend works for an organization called AIDS United. His job is to travel the country and help people get AIDS medication, specifically trans and unhoused community members. But his job is at risk, he says. The end outcome of his work is that people who have issues in their lives have the issues resolved and thats going away under the current administration.Executive orders are based on powers granted to the president by the U.S. Constitution or by Congressional statutes. The president cannot use an executive order to create new laws or spend money unless Congress has authorized it. They are meant to direct how existing laws are implemented. But Trump has ignored democratic norms, often filling agencies with loyal supporters, using orders to go after political opponents and pushing the limits of what the law allows.In some cases, he has moved illegally. The President is directing various executive branch officials to adopt policy that has either not yet been adopted by Congress or is in violation of existing statutory law, says Jodi Short, professor of law at UC Law San Francisco. The analogy to a king and what has troubled many about this presidency is the sheer consolidation of executive branch power in one individual.Shorts colleague, Dave Owen, agrees. Illegality has been rampant, he told Uncloseted Media in an email. People are often cynical about the government, and they might think what Trumps doing is nothing new. But most of the time, the executive branch takes the law seriously, and both legal constraints and norms of good governance matter, he wrote. He says that through history, theres been a lot more integrity and a lot less lawlessness than most people realize.This administration has broken with those traditions, he adds.Revolt Against Executive OrdersMany Americans have recognized this. A survey from April found that 85% of Americans agreed or strongly agreed that the president should obey federal court rulings even if he doesnt like them. In response to Trumps overreach, more than 460 legal challenges have been filed across the country challenging his executive actions. One of these is a federal lawsuit by Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation that challenges the constitutionality of the Trump administrations ban on military service by transgender people. Another lawsuit challenges Trumps order directing federal agencies to withhold funds from medical providers and institutions that provide gender-affirming medical treatments for people under 19.Zoe Boik and her father, Derik, protesting on Saturday. Photo by Sean Robinson.Both of those lawsuits are one reason 17-year-old Zoe Boik came out to protest with her friends and her dad. Obviously, Im disappointed and kind of helpless because theres nothing I can directly do to change or impact anything thats going on, says Boik, who identifies as pansexual and gender fluid and is not legally allowed to vote.Boikwho was seven years old when Trump announced his run for presidency in 2015says shes doing a research paper on Trumps trans military ban and is frustrated because she sees it as inexplicable discrimination. Theyre not letting trans people serve which doesnt make any sense.Zoe as a child with her dad, Derik. Photo courtesy of Boik.LGBTQ Rights and Democratic BackslidingThis type of blatant discrimination is often a key sign of a country moving closer to authoritarianism and away from democracy. According to a 2023 research paper by Shaw and his colleagues, anti-LGBTQ stigma may contribute to the erosion of democratic norms and institutions. The paper found that when a country with relatively high acceptance of LGBTQ rights introduces anti-LGBTQ legislation, it clashes with what most people believe and can weaken public trust in democracy, deepen political divides and make it easier for populist or extremist movements to gain power.The level of acceptance of LGBTQ people is closely associated with the strength of democracy in a country, Shaw says. In some cases, we even saw that rising anti-LGBTQ rhetoric or policies preceded a broader decline in democracy.In Brazil, for example, early democratic gains coincided with rising LGBTQ acceptance, including legal recognition of same-sex unions and workplace protections. But as populist President Jair Bolsonaro came into power in 2019, he began questioningwithout evidencethe security of Brazils voting systems, saying he would only lose his re-election campaign if there were fraud. He was also accused of trying to intervene in operations held by the Federal Police about the alleged criminal conduct of his sons, and he told his ministers that he had the power and he would interferewithout exceptionin all cabinet ministries. At the same time, LGBTQ protections were rolled back, and schools and civil society faced censorship, suggesting that falling LGBTQ acceptance may have preceded Brazils democratic erosion, according to Shaws paper. In September of this year, Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a military coup.Another example is Polands democracy weakening since 2015 under the Law and Justice Party, which consolidated power by undermining the Constitutional Tribunal, installing loyal judges and restricting independent media. Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric became central to the partys nationalist platform, fueling the creation of nearly 100 LGBT ideology free zones, inciting violence against LGBTQ individuals and stymying legal recourse through politicized courts.When it comes to LGBTQ rights, Trump has mimicked the moves of these leaders even though most of his constituents dont want it: A 2022 survey from the Public Religion Research Institute found that 80% of Americans favor laws that would protect LGBTQ people against discrimination.The definition of an authoritarian system is a system where power is consolidated in one individual whose power is unchecked by any other institution. And I fear that in certain domains, thats the direction in which this administration is trying to move us, says Short. I think its incredibly dangerous.Subscribe nowAttacks on Higher EducationAnother common tool in the authoritarian playbook is attacking higher education.In the U.S., Trump has done just that by pressuring top universities to get rid of their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs and inclusive policies for transgender athletes, which he has called ideological capture. If they dont obey, Trump has threatened to freeze millions of dollars in funding.While many universities are rejecting Trumps demands, others are experiencing a chilling effect, changing their policies before the administration tries to hold up funds.James Revson, Maddy Everlith and Shay Wingate holding their signs at the No Kings protest. Photo by Jelinda Montes.Im here because Im angry and I feel that we arent angry enough, Maddy Everlith, a sophomore gender studies major at Pace University, told Uncloseted Media as she marched with her friends. Being a woman of color in America and having so many intersectional identities is also what affects me. I want to stand up and advocate for other people.Everliths university responded to Trumps threats in September by renaming its DEI office to the Division of Opportunity and Institutional Excellence.I am beyond horrified how quickly our university was willing to bend the knee on this decision, Austin Chappelle, a senior at Pace, told the student newspaper. This change comes in the midst of uncertainty under the Trump administration, which has already caused many LGBTQ students to feel uneasy on campus.Subscribe nowScapegoating Transgender PeopleBeyond the laws and policies lies a vile rhetoric used to scapegoat trans Americans. During the 2024 federal election campaigns, Trump spent roughly $215 million on anti-trans ads, more than five times as much as he spent on ads focused on the economy. In addition, hes monstrified the community, saying, These people are sick. They are deranged. Hes also said Democrats are pushing the transgender cult on children and has aligned with groups trying to designate transgender Americans as terrorists.Its part of an electoral strategy to try to mobilize right-wing voters to distract from other sorts of political or economic scandals, Shaw says, adding that this tactic is another way to gain power.Lars Kindem protesting for his trans sister at the No Kings protest. Photo by Sean Robinson.The pain of this rhetoric has affected millions of trans Americans and allies alike, including Lars Kindem, a 64-year-old retired pilot from Minnesota who was marching to support his transgender sister. What Trump has done is hes taken people that havent done anything wrong and has turned them into scapegoats, he says, adding that Trumps language is hateful, petty, mean and hurtful.He says his sister and her partner are having issues getting the correct gender markers issued on their passports. Because of the Trump administrations treatment of the community, they are making plans to move to Denmark, where theres a lot more acceptance.Christian NationalismThis scapegoating has played into the hands of Trumps voter base of white evangelical Protestants, the only major Christian denomination in the U.S. in which a majority believes society has gone too far in accepting transgender people.Since 2020, Trump has increasingly embraced Christian nationalism in his rhetoric and imagery. Hes sold Bibles, created a federal task force on anti-Christian bias and been intrinsically linked to Project 2025, the 920-page plan calling for the establishment of a government imbued with biblical principles and run by a president who holds sweeping executive powers.Experts say that a strong authoritarian streak runs through conservative Christianity. A 2023 study found that supporters of Christian nationalism tend to support obedience to authority and the idea of authoritarian leaders who are willing to break the rules. Nearly half of Christian nationalists support the notion of an authoritarian leader.They are trying to use the language of Christianity, but they are abusing it and misusing it constantly, Rev. Chris Shelton, a gay pastor at the protest, told Uncloseted Media. Our faith is all about reaching out to the marginalized, reaching out to the people who are ostracized by society and embracing them and offering love and welcome and a sense of dignity and worth. And to see any human beings worth being denied is just a mockery of our faith.Rev. Chris Shelton marched in Saturdays NYC protest. Photo by Sean Robinson.Heidi Beirich, the vice president and co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, says that the LGBTQ community is the prime target of modern authoritarian regimes.For Christian nationalists, attacking LGBTQ rights is the first pillar in destroying civil rights for all. This has happened in countries like Hungary and Poland as authoritarianism consolidated and now its happening here, Beirich told Uncloseted Media.Moving ForwardAs the country bleeds toward authoritarianism, LGBTQ protestors are encouraging people to use their voice, something the queer community is familiar with doing: One 2012 survey found that queer folks are 20 times more likely to be active in liberal social movements than their straight, cis counterparts.It is imperative that people continue to pay attention, Short says. There is so much going on, a lot of it is disturbing and intense, and theres such a strong impulse to look away. But we have to engage in political action and resist inappropriate assertions of authority and continue to show up and vote for our democracy.Share17-year-old Zoe Boik is ready. She remembers being in second grade and crying the day after Trump won his first election in 2016. She couldnt believe how he could lead the country despite all the bad things he said.Boik cant wait until the midterm elections, when she will be 18 and finally able to vote. If we dont vote, then our voices wont be heard, she says.Despite this, shes also concerned about her freedom to exercise that right being jeopardized.My fears about Trump dont stem specifically from me being queer, but from his authoritarianism as a whole, she says. I am scared about how far he will move into dictatorship, [and] my biggest fear is that our right to vote will be compromised, leaving us no recourse.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media