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recurring claim

The recurring claim that children get gender surgery through their schools

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You're probably here because of the Oct 2026 rerun. This is the 4th time since 2024 this story has run. The previous rerun was Oct 2024.

About this story

Since August 2024, Donald Trump has said several times that U.S. schools perform, arrange or send children for gender-transition surgery without their parents knowing, first at a Moms for Liberty event, then at 2024 campaign rallies, on Fox & Friends and on Joe Rogan's podcast, and again at 2026 midterm rallies. CNN and Snopes rated the claim false, and PolitiFact rated it Pants on Fire. They reported finding no documented case, and CNN reported that the 2024 campaign and the White House in 2026 gave no example when asked. CNN reported that parental consent is required even where such surgery is legal for minors. When asked for evidence, the campaign and the White House pointed to school policies on social transitions and parental notification, which CNN and PolitiFact described as a separate issue from the surgery claim.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

20162026

Oct 2026 Trump revives the "secret school gender surgery" claim at midterm rallies

CNN reported that Trump began repeating the claim at midterm rallies in Ohio on Oct. 12, 2026, Kentucky on Oct. 17 and Kansas on Oct. 19, in addition to the two speeches quoted below. At a Bullhead City, Arizona rally on Oct. 14, he said, "They want to mutilate — cut — your children… Six states, I mean, they can do whatever they want — and they do… Your son leaves as 'Jimmy' and comes back home in three days as 'Janet,' and they don't even ask you… They can take your child out of school and do whatever the hell they want. These people are sick. Minnesota is one of those states that can do that" (Roll Call). At a Dalton, Georgia rally on Oct. 16, he said "we have five states where your child goes off to school as Tim and comes back as Tammy, three or four days later," and added, "'Where's my son? My son is in the hospital.'… They don't even need approval" (CNN). CNN described this as a revival of a claim Trump made in the final months of the 2024 campaign. It reported that "There is no state in which schools would not need parental approval to send a child to a hospital for elective surgery," and that the White House could not give a single example. A Minnesota Department of Education spokesperson called the claim "unequivocally false," per CNN. CNN reported that the White House instead sent cases of schools facilitating social transitions without parents' knowledge, which CNN called "very different" from the surgery claim.

  • rollcall.com article
    Your son leaves as 'Jimmy' and comes back home in three days as 'Janet,' and they don't even ask you
  • CNN article
    There is no state in which schools would not need parental approval to send a child to a hospital for elective surgery.
  • youtube.com video
    transcript

Sources: rollcall.com reliable · CNN reliable · kvia.com needs a second source · rawstory.com needs a second source · gomag.com needs a second source

Oct 2024 Fox & Friends barbershop segment and the Joe Rogan interview

In a Fox & Friends segment filmed at a Bronx barbershop with host Lawrence Jones and aired Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, a local resident asked Trump what he would do to improve the schools (The New Republic). CNN quoted his answer: "No transgender, no operations — you know, they take your kid — there are some places, your boy leaves for school, comes back a girl. Okay? Without parental consent." In his Friday, Oct. 25 interview with podcast host Joe Rogan, he said, per CNN: "the transgender operations: where they're allowed to take your child when he goes to school and turn him into a male — to a female — without parental consent." CNN's Oct. 26 fact-check said the claim "remains false," reporting "There is no evidence that schools in any part of the United States have sent children for gender-affirming surgeries without their parents' approval." CNN reported that parental consent is required even in states where such surgery is legal for minors, and that the limited available data shows the vast majority of gender-affirming surgeries occur among adults. CNN's Oct. 27 fact-check of the Rogan interview listed the remark among 32 false claims.

  • CNN article
    Trump's claim remains false.
  • The New Republic article
    The former president visited a Bronx barbershop with Fox and Friends' Lawrence Jones in a segment that aired on Monday
  • CNN article
    Trump repeated his false claim that schools are sending children for gender-affirming surgeries without parental consent

Sources: CNN reliable · CNN reliable · The New Republic needs a second source

Sep 2024 Rallies in Mosinee, Wisconsin and Tucson, Arizona

At a campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, Trump said: "Can you imagine you're a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, 'Jimmy, I love you so much, go have a good day in school,' and your son comes back with a brutal operation?" (NBC News, which dates the rally to Saturday; Snopes and one Advocate article give Sept. 9). At a rally in Tucson, Arizona on Sept. 12, he said: "Can you imagine, your child goes to school and they don't even call you and they change the sex of your child" (Advocate; Snopes). NBC News and Snopes both tied the Wisconsin remark to what he told the Moms for Liberty event on Aug. 30: "Your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation." NBC News reported "There is no evidence that a student has ever undergone gender-affirming surgery at a school in the U.S., nor is there evidence that a U.S. school has sent a student to receive such a procedure elsewhere." Citing the American Association of Medical Providers, NBC also reported that guidelines from several major medical associations require a parent or guardian's consent before a minor receives gender-affirming care, and that about half the states ban such surgery for minors. Snopes rated the claim False.

  • NBC News article
    Can you even imagine this? What the hell is wrong with our country?
  • advocate.com article
    On Saturday afternoon, Donald Trump held a rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin, where he repeated a claim he first made at an event
  • advocate.com article
    Can you imagine, your child goes to school and they don't even call you and they change the sex of your child
  • Snopes article
    we uncovered no evidence of children going to school to receive any sort of sex-change operation or gender-affirming surgery.

Sources: NBC News reliable · Snopes reliable · advocate.com needs a second source · advocate.com needs a second source

Aug 2024 – Sep 2024 Trump at the Moms for Liberty event

PolitiFact reports that Donald Trump spoke with Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice at the group's Aug. 30, 2024 gathering in Washington, D.C. He said: "The transgender thing is incredible. Think of it, your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation. The school decides what's going to happen with your child." NBC News reported that he was answering Justice's question about how he would address the "explosion in the number of children who identify as transgender." CNN rated the claim false on Sept. 4, 2024, saying "There is no evidence that US schools have sent children into gender-affirming surgeries without their parents knowing or performed gender-affirming surgeries on site." PolitiFact rated it Pants on Fire on Sept. 5, saying it "could find no evidence of a situation like Trump described ever happening." Snopes and LGBTQ Nation rated it False. CNN reported that Justice herself said, "Are kids getting surgery in school? No they're not," while saying she was thankful the remark drew attention to schools' handling of social transitions. Asked for evidence, campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt pointed PolitiFact to school policies on telling parents when a child identifies as transgender. PolitiFact said those policies "have no bearing on whether a school is allowed to provide medical care," and CNN called the debate over disclosing social transitions to parents "beside the point" of the surgery claim.

  • PolitiFact article
    If a surgical procedure at school sounds far-fetched, that's because it is.
  • CNN article
    Trump's own presidential campaign could not provide a single example of this ever happening.
  • NBC News article
    There is no evidence that a student has ever undergone gender-affirming surgery at a school in the U.S.
  • c-span.org video Watch
    The transgender thing is incredible. Think of it, your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation. The school decides what's going to happen with your child.

Sources: PolitiFact reliable · CNN reliable · Snopes reliable · lgbtqnation.com needs a second source · NBC News reliable

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