Sage Blair and sage blair: Voters react as Trump calls Dems 'crazy' for not applauding ban on secret teen gender transitions

President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address on Tuesday to press for a ban on socially transitioning minors without parental consent, spotlighting the case of sage blair. The remarks drew sharply divided responses from a live panel and prompted applause from Republicans in the chamber while many Democrats remained seated.

Panel tracked real-time reactions

A live reaction panel assembled by Maslansky & Partners included 29 Democrats, 30 Independents and 40 Republicans. The panel's responses were displayed as colored lines on a graph, with higher values representing positive reactions and lower values indicating negative ones.

Colored lines showed partisan views

As Trump delivered the remarks, the Republican line, shown in red, climbed sharply into positive territory. Independents, represented in yellow, ticked upward, while 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

Sage Blair and her mother, Michelle Blair, stood in the gallery during the State of the Union after Trump highlighted Blair's case involving alleged school gender transition policies. The image of the two in the gallery was credited to Pool.

What Trump said on parental consent

Trump sought to frame the issue in stark terms, saying, "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, " and adding, "Who would believe that?… We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately. " When Democrats did not stand, he became visibly angry and pointed at Democratic senators and House members, saying, "These people are crazy. I’m telling you. They’re crazy. " The comments drew applause from Republicans in the chamber.

Family lawsuit and allegations

Trump made the remarks as he called on Sage Blair, a Virginia teenager whose family filed a 2023 lawsuit alleging that Appomattox County High School staff socially transitioned her without parental knowledge. The lawsuit filed by her family says Blair began identifying as male at school, that staff used male names and pronouns, and that she was allowed to use male facilities without her parents being informed.

Invitation and legal action

Appomattox locals Michele and Sage Blair were invited to attend Tuesday's State of the Union speech in Washington, D. C. Michele filed a 2023 lawsuit against multiple Appomattox County Schools officials, alleging that officials concealed information about Sage’s gender identity and bullying and saying that concealment ultimately contributed to Sage's decision to run away.

Allegations of trafficking and a lawyer's statement

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. Vernadette Broyles, who represents Michele through the Child & Parental Rights Campaign, said in a press release that the invitation to the State of the Union address "highlights the national conversation on putting parental involvement and child safety first. "

President Donald Trump also said Blair was 14 when school officials sought to socially transition her "to a new gender, " remarks he used to argue for broader limits on transitions of minors. Republican applause, Democratic refusal to stand, the live panel's red-yellow-blue lines, the 29-30-40 panel makeup, the 2023 lawsuit, the Appomattox County High School and Appomattox County Schools names, the allegations of kidnapping, rape and sex trafficking across state lines, and the involvement of Vernadette Broyles and the Child & Parental Rights Campaign were all part of the evening's public record.

In the chamber, partisan responses remained sharply divided: Republican applause and rising red-line reactions, Democratic negative responses and a steady position from independents framed the reaction to the president's call for an immediate ban on secret teen gender transitions.