Trump administration not responding to reporters with signature pronouns

Journalists who add their preferred pronouns to email signatures are reportedly less likely to receive responses from the White House or members of the Trump administration in the U.S.A. when seeking comments, according to ‘Independent’.

In the wake of President Donald Trump’s actions against trans rights and gender ideology within the federal government, administration officials appear to be taking measures to discourage reporters from using language that recognises non-binary or transgender individuals.

This includes a refusal to reply to emails from reporters that contain preferred pronouns in their signatures, such as “she/her,” “he/him,” or “they/them.”

The New York Times has mentioned on at least three occasions that senior press aides for Trump have declined to answer inquiries due to the presence of pronouns. “As a matter of policy, we do not respond to reporters with pronouns in their bios,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a Times reporter.

In an email to The Independent, the White House stated, “Any reporter who chooses to put their preferred pronouns in their bio clearly does not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story.”

Other officials in the Trump administration, such as White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung and Department of Government Efficiency adviser Katie Miller, have provided similar responses to reporters who include pronouns in their email signatures.

“As a matter of policy, I don’t respond to people who use pronouns in their signatures as it shows they ignore scientific realities and therefore ignore facts,” Miller expressed in an email to a Times reporter, according to the outlet. She clarified in another message: “This applies to all reporters who have pronouns in their signature.”

Matt Berg, a reporter at Crooked Media, noted in a February newsletter that he conducted an experiment by sending an email to Miller while including his preferred pronouns, which he usually avoids. He reported that Miller replied, “As a matter of policy, I don’t respond to people who use pronouns in their signature as it shows they don’t have an understanding of basic scientific facts.”

The trend of sharing preferred pronouns online has become a focal point for conservative media figures and some politicians, who view any acknowledgment of gender beyond male and female as a form of woke-ism.

In January, Trump mandated all federal employees to refrain from using preferred pronouns in their email signatures.

The Trump administration has emphasised trans issues during the president’s first 100 days, with Trump signing an executive order on his first day in office declaring there are only two sexes - male and female. Additionally, transgender individuals have been barred from military service, and transgender women and girls are prohibited from competing in women’s sports. Many of these policies are currently facing legal challenges.