Anti-trans Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) claimed kids are safer under [the] President after a 12-year-old boy spoke about being forced to read an inclusive book to a younger child at school. California student Shea Encinas spoke to the crowd at a meeting of the White House Religious Liberty Commission at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., about having to read the book My Shadow is Pink by Scott Stuart to his kindergarten buddy. Related MTG arrived at Epstein victim press conference as protestors chanted Marjorie sucks! Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Ive been a Christian my whole life, and Jesus means everything to me, Encinas said. When I was in fifth grade, my school forced me to teach my kindergarten buddy about changing his gender using a book called My Shadow is Pink.The book said you can choose your gender based on feelings instead of how God made us. I knew this was not right, but I was afraid of getting in trouble. After my family spoke up, the school treated us badly, and kids started bullying me and my brother because of our faith, and the school did nothing to stop it.Encinas said he kept trusting God and that kids like him should be able to live our faith at school without being forced to go against what we believe. The president stood behind Encinas while he spoke and then praised his speech for being delivered well. My Shadow is Pink is about a boy who feels different from his family and loves things not for boys like princesses, ponies, dancing, and wearing dresses. His dad tells him its just a phase and that his shadow will turn blue one of these days. He decides to wear a dress on his first day of school and finds himself struggling to connect with his peers, wishing his shadow were blue and not pink. He vows never to wear a dress again. But then, his dad comes into his room adorned in a pink dress and tells his son, Youre shadow is pink. I see now its true. Its not just a shadow, its your innermost you. The dad teaches that everyone has an inner shadow that likes something people may not expect. He says, So put on that dress and get back to school. If someone wont like you, then they are the fool.While books about trans identities are not inappropriate for children, this particular story does not actually even delve into that conversation or discuss the boy changing his gender at all. Rather, it communicates that boys are allowed to like things that are stereotypically considered for girls.Nevertheless, in her post praising the president for championing Encinas, Mace (who is running for South Carolina governor) said the book pushed mentally ill ideology.As Governor, I will work hand-and-hand with the President to return power to parents and protect our children, she said. American children are safer under President Trump. As Governor, I will work hand-and-hand with the President to return power to parents and protect our children from this mentally ill ideology.HOLD THE LINE. https://t.co/wYghxxSlaH Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) September 8, 2025In the meantime, as Mace claims the president makes kids safer, he is currently embroiled in a massive controversy surrounding the late child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, amid reportsthat his name appears in the Epstein files and accusations that he had sex with many girlssupplied to him by Epstein.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.