Pronoun Signatures Spark Debate as Trump White House Ignores Reporters Who Use Them

The use of pronouns in email signatures has become the latest battleground in the culture wars, with the Trump White House dismissing reporters who include them in their correspondence, Fox News reports.

The New York Times recently highlighted instances of the White House press office refusing to respond to emailed inquiries from reporters who display their pronouns (e.g., He/Him, She/Her, They/Them). The White House press office has stated that such reporters “clearly do not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story.”

The decision to list pronouns is often framed as unnecessary virtue-signaling promoting the notion of multiple genders beyond the male-female binary by its critics. Supporters, however, argue that it’s a respectful practice that acknowledges and validates diverse identities.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the policy, telling Fox News :

“Any reporter who chooses to put their preferred pronouns in their bio clearly does not care about biological reality or truth and therefore cannot be trusted to write an honest story.”

Mary Margaret Olahan, White House correspondent for The Daily Wire, echoed this sentiment, stating:

“Pronouns in your bio is an overtly political statement, and about sexual preference too! Wildly inappropriate for anyone in a professional context.”

Olahan also added that she frequently faces similar issues when seeking comment from the Biden White House.

Other White House correspondents offered differing perspectives. One, who remained anonymous, characterized the situation as “amusing” and questioned the strictness of the policy, pointing out that most reporters have direct access to Leavitt and other press office members for in-person inquiries. The correspondent also noted the preference for text messaging and secure communication apps like Signal over email. Another reporter simply stated they had “no clue” what to make of the press team’s stance on pronouns.

The New York Times condemned the policy as a pretext for evasion.

Andrew Bates, former deputy White House press secretary under President Joe Biden, accused the Trump team of attempting to divert attention from pressing economic challenges.

Despite the reported policy, The Washington Post noted that at least one of their reporters had recently received replies from White House officials despite including pronouns in their email signature.

The Trump administration has consistently focused on gender identity issues, implementing policies such as banning transgender individuals from serving in the US military, prohibiting transgender women from participating in women’s sports, and removing gender identity references throughout the federal government.