Sage Blair and her mother attend State of the Union as Trump presses ban on secret teen gender transitions
sage blair and her mother were seated in the gallery during the State of the Union as President Donald Trump highlighted a 2023 lawsuit over her school’s handling of her gender identity. The appearance came as Trump demanded a ban on socially transitioning minors without parental consent, a moment that produced sharp, party-line reactions in the chamber and on a live voter panel.
Trump presses ban on socially transitioning minors and lashes out at Democrats
During the address, Trump called for a ban on socially transitioning minors without parental consent and said, "We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately. " He framed the proposal with the comment, "But surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will. " When Democratic members remained seated rather than applauding, Trump turned on them, pointing his finger and saying, "These people are crazy. I’m telling you. They’re crazy. " The comments drew applause from Republicans in the chamber, and the president became incensed when he realized Democrats refused to stand.
Maslansky & Partners panel of 29 Democrats, 30 Independents and 40 Republicans tracked reactions
A live reaction panel assembled by polling group Maslansky & Partners displayed real-time responses as colored lines on a graph, with higher values representing positive reactions and lower values indicating negative ones. The panel included 29 Democrats, 30 Independents and 40 Republicans. As Trump delivered the remarks, the Republican line, shown in red, climbed sharply into positive territory; independents, shown in yellow, ticked upward; and Democrats, shown in blue, trended downward into negative territory. Republican reactions stayed elevated during the remarks, Democratic responses remained negative, and independent voters held relatively steady.
Sage Blair in the gallery; Appomattox mother named Michele and Michelle appear in reports
Two Appomattox guests were identified as Michele and Sage Blair and were invited to the State of the Union address in Washington, D. C., on Tuesday. Photographs show Sage Blair and her mother, Michelle Blair, standing in the gallery after Trump highlighted her case involving alleged school gender transition policies. Vernadette Broyles, who represents Michele through the Child & Parental Rights Campaign, said in a press release that the invitation to the address "highlights the national conversation on putting parental involvement and child safety first. " The appearance connected the local lawsuit to the national debate over parental rights and school practices.
2023 lawsuit alleges Appomattox County High School staff socially transitioned her without parental knowledge
The family filed a lawsuit in 2023 alleging that Appomattox County High School staff socially transitioned the teenager without informing her parents. The lawsuit says Blair began identifying as male at school, that staff used male names and male pronouns for her, and that staff allowed her to use male facilities without notifying her parents. Highlighting the case during his address, Trump said Blair was 14 when school officials sought to socially transition her "to a new gender, ".
Family alleges runaway led to kidnapping, rape and sex trafficking across state lines
The family alleges the situation escalated after Blair ran away from home and later became a victim of sex trafficking. The lawsuit alleges she was kidnapped and raped in multiple states. Michele said that after Sage ran away she was kidnapped, raped and sex-trafficked across state lines, and the legal filing links those events to the school conduct it describes.
