Several media outlets, including NBC, Rolling Stone, CNN, MSNBC, and host Rachel Maddow, quickly claimed this statement was false.
To their credit, CNN later retracted its original claim and revised its conclusion to "needs context."
MSNBC and Rachel Maddow’s Response
Rachel Maddow went as far as to call Trump a "numbskull," arguing that he had confused "transgenic" with "transgender." However, this was not the case—Trump was specifically referring to studies on the health effects of gender-affirming hormone therapy, which is used to align physical characteristics with gender identities.
Trump's remarks were based on findings from the White Coat Waste Project, a non-profit organization that campaigns against taxpayer-funded animal testing. The group has investigated government-funded research examining the effects of gender-affirming drugs on rodents.
The use of transgenic mice is common in government-funded biomedical research, with billions of dollars allocated for such studies. Maddow attempted to clarify this distinction, stating:
“Actually, it’s transgenic mice. And transgenic mice are used in all kinds of laboratory research because mice are transgenic when they have been genetically altered so you can study human illnesses and conditions in them, even though they’re mice.”
She concluded with:
“It is transgenic mice, you numbskulls. But sure, go ahead and shut down all the labs studying all the diseases because what are you, 5?”
While Maddow correctly pointed out that transgenic mice are used widely in research, she failed to acknowledge a key numerical discrepancy: Trump’s remarks concerned only $8 million in funding, whereas over $100 million is spent on research using transgenic mice. This means the studies in question represented less than 8% of total spending on Humanized Mice Model Research, making it clear that Trump was not broadly targeting transgenic mice research.
The Rolling Stone’s Mischaracterization
Echoing MSNBC’s argument, Rolling Stone attempted to discredit Trump’s statement but, in doing so, inadvertently provided evidence that supported it.
For example, the outlet cited a $1.2 million study, writing:
“A different hormone study, priced at $1.2 million, indeed used ‘transgenic’—not transgender—mice.”
However, the study they linked explicitly described the use of transgenic mice to create transgender mice—that is, administering gender-affirming hormone therapy to model human treatments. Rolling Stone failed to recognize that gender-affirming therapy is a form of hormone therapy, meaning the study they referenced actually confirmed Trump’s statement rather than refuting it.
CNN’s Correction and Acknowledgment
While CNN initially published a fact-check labeling Trump’s claim as false, they later revised their conclusion to "needs context." Whether additional context is necessary is a matter of opinion, but CNN at least made an effort to correct its reporting. This shift suggests an improvement in CNN’s approach to fact-checking, focusing more on factual accuracy rather than opinion-driven assessments.
Final Analysis
Some outlets, including those cited above, conceded that "making transgender mice" was not the primary purpose of these studies. However, Trump never claimed it was—he merely noted that public funds had been spent on studies where transgender mice were created.
The White House also clarified that these studies were not conducted for the purpose of creating transgender mice, but rather to study the effects of gender-affirming hormone treatments. However, in order to conduct such research, transgender mice had to be created, meaning Trump's statement was factually correct.
The most accurate interpretation of Trump’s comments came from The Telegraph, Yahoo News, and other outlets, which accurately contextualized his claim.
Conclusion
Media outlets such as MSNBC, Rachel Maddow, Rolling Stone, and NBC misrepresented the facts by relying on assumptions, selective framing, and a failure to conduct thorough research or basic mathematical analysis.
References:
- Image credit: neurobite - stock.adobe.com
- Yahoo News Story
- Rolling Stone Story
- MSNBC and Rachel Maddow Story
- CNN Story
- White House Statement
- Androgen effects on the reproductive neuroendocrine axis NIH Publication
- Times of India Story
