Well, this week, President Trump signed an executive order banning transgender women and girls from competing in female sports.

The measure, called the no men and women Sports Executive Order, is the fourth in a series of actions to roll back transgender rights in the U.S., making good on campaign promises to do so.

Among them executive orders banning transgender service members from the military and restricting gender affirming care for minors.

That's an order that's being challenged in the courts.

The white House says the latest EO on sports is intended to protect women's access to safe and fair athletic opportunities.

But extremism experts and those within the trans community say the move points to what they call a dangerous political strategy that sows division and expands authoritarian control.

To help explain, I'm joined by Aisling McDonald, the trans resiliency project manager for Garden State Equality.

Thank you so much for coming on the show.

I want to ask you first.

You know, I looked at some census numbers, that transgender Americans make up less than 1% of adults in the U.S.. Yep.

Why do you believe the administration is so focused on rolling back transgender rights?

I believe that the administration is so fiercely attacking transgender rights, because it's a very simple way for them to divide and conquer the populous.

It's a strategy that we've seen before from different administrations.

First, they attack, sorry, minority sexual orientation or gender identity minorities, and then use that as a wedge to further take away people's basic human rights.

There have been a number of, characterizations thrown out there in the last couple of weeks.

You know, while executive orders are being signed and beyond, essentially referring to trans people as dangerous to society as being mentally unwell, how do you counter that and how are you, in your role countering that?

It really comes down to reinforcing basic, demonstrable and replicable truths.

It's a very common narrative for this administration and other parties to spread stories like that.

When the statistics speak for themselves.

Trans identifying people are much more likely to be assaulted to face discrimination than they are to cause those things to other people.

And you can find this data across the world and World Health Organization American Journal of Psychiatry Psychiatry, American Journal of Surgery.

You can find it on Human Rights Campaign.

The statistics speak for themselves.

What type of work now are you and Garden State equality shifting toward?

I imagine that you're getting a lot of emails, calls, even from folks who are concerned.

I can't speak for the entirety of my organization.

I know that for me, as a member of the Department of Trans Resiliency, we are pivoting to meet the moment.

I know that most of the questions we get are centered around anxiety and uncertainty towards the future, and we are doing our best to make sure that the people we are answerable to and the people that we advocate for understand the situation in real time because it is constantly evolving, especially on the basis of how nonsensical some of the executive orders are, particularly the sex assigned at birth one.

Do I mean, from what you're hearing, do folks feel safer in a state like new Jersey where there are, rights that have been protected, yet others that have not, or do they feel just as vulnerable?

The responses that we've gotten and the things that we're hearing from community members are split 5050.

A lot of folks are very, very anxious with everything that's going on.

And I think one of the messages that we keep trying to come back to is that the lived experience of LGBTQ plus people will vary greatly depending on the state we live in.

We're very fortunate to live in new Jersey with all of our protections.

Talk to me just a little bit about the reactions that have come out with each executive order.

Does it feel like, there is enough counter ground game, so to speak?

Or that it's a firehose of orders that are coming out almost too much to keep up with?

That's a great question.

And I think it's important that when we discuss executive orders, we remember that most of them, they will not be implemented for 60 to 90 days, even though some agencies are attempting to implement them early.

There is a little bit of time, while we understand the impact and how they will roll out.

There is much less panic than you might expect.

Aisling McDonald is the trans resiliency project manager and trainer with Garden State Equality.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you very much.