FEB 6, 2025 | OPINION | By Kole Petersen
Over the last two parts of this series, I examined how the words that come out of Donald Trump’s mouth and the policies that he instituted and supported will impact the lives of disabled people in the United States. Although Trump’s opinions and political promises are undoubtedly scary for the future of disabled people, it is ignorant to place all of the responsibility for the future of our country on one man. Indeed, due to their closer proximity to the legislative process, the people accompanying Trump in Washington D.C. over the next four years may constitute an even greater risk for the livelihoods of disabled people than the man sitting at the head of the Oval Office.
Before we begin, I want to reiterate my disclaimer throughout this series. I do not desire or intend to fearmonger, defame or mischaracterize Trump or anyone else who is a part of his administration. I sincerely hope that this second Trump administration will make great strides in improving disabled people’s quality of life. I hope that the people I am about to discuss will change their opinions and be more receptive toward legislation benefiting disabled people. However, based on the precedents that the people surrounding Trump have made throughout their political careers and wider lives, I am hard-pressed to be optimistic.
Let’s begin with Trump’s right-hand man, Vice President JD Vance. While most well known — and criticized — for his 2016 “poornography” memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” his beliefs about gun violence, Social Security and the Department of Veteran Affairs showcase that his misunderstandings about marginalized American populations don’t end with the lower class. During a vice presidential debate with Governor Tim Walz on Oct. 1, 2024, Vance brought up the dangerously false connection between mental illness and gun violence, a stance that increases the already problematic stigma against the mentally disabled. Mental illness on its own is not a predictive factor of violence; individuals with mental health disabilities commit less than 5% of gun-related killings in the United States. Furthermore, those who commit mass shootings are not simply madmen. Just as shooters are complex individuals with complex motives, the issue of gun control is more complicated than pushing all the blame onto those with mental health and disabilities.
Vance also said he would consider plans to privatize parts of the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), advocating for more private healthcare options for veterans. Although Vance frames this issue as a matter of providing increased choices for veteran patients, privatizing the VA reflects his tendency to convert American peoples’ livelihoods into a business opportunity or cost-cutting measure.
Outside doctors do not have the same expertise in treating post-traumatic stress disorder and other veteran-specific mental health issues, thus the specialized services that the VA provides are at serious risk if the department has its funding reduced. The VA is a lifeline for those who have served our country, and privatizing this agency will restrict access to specialized physical and mental health care for veterans who became disabled during their service. Vance’s plan to reduce the growth of Social Security benefits, however, will endanger the lives of every disabled American. Vance blamed many factors for the current state of Social Security, including people not working enough and undocumented immigrants, but no matter the population he chooses to delegate responsibility to, he wants to diminish Social Security’s funding to lower government spending. Once again, this opinion shows that Vance values the government’s business operations over the livelihoods of the American people. If Social Security is defunded, millions of disabled people who depend on Social Security Disability Insurance will have an essential lifeline for their continued existence essentially stripped away from them.
Speaking of desiring cuts to governmental departments, let’s talk about Elon Musk. Trump, who has repeatedly called Musk a “brilliant guy,” likely due to his increasingly vocal support of Trump and Republican dogma on Twitter and his being the largest individual donor of the 2024 election cycle, tapped Musk to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This governmental advisory body is intended to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies,” and Musk said that he had a “good shot” at cutting federal spending by $1-2 trillion. If $2 trillion in cuts is actually achieved, it would likely result in 33% cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and all programs related to veterans’ compensation and healthcare. The Grace Commission was a program instituted by Ronald Reagan for a similar purpose to DOGE, yet none of its recommendations were approved by Congress. Musk’s aspirations to diminish Medicaid, the Department of Education, and more ignore the necessity of these federal programs for disabled peoples’ livelihoods.
In a similar vein, the misinformation that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spread throughout his political career ignores scientific consensus and perpetuates harmful conspiracies regarding disabled people, especially considering his role as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Despite being vocal about his spasmodic dysphonia diagnosis, a neurological condition affecting the vocal cords that is considered a disability if speech is substantially limited without access to medical interventions, RFK Jr. has spouted numerous continually reaffirmed his belief that “autism comes from vaccines.” As I explained in Part Two, the claim that vaccines cause autism is staunchly unfounded and reinforces fraudulent “scientific” research. Furthermore, a cause for autism implies that a cure exists, and RFK Jr.’s belief portrays autistic people as being born “normal” but tragically being “broken” by vaccines. However, autism spectrum disorder is not a disease that needs to be eradicated; it is a disability that should be accepted, accommodated and understood. Autistic people, including myself, deserve to be respected, and simplifying our disability as a preventable consequence of an important medical resource is incredibly damaging to the American public’s perception of neurodivergent people.
There are so many more people set to be confirmed to Trump’s Cabinet who have spouted dangerous rhetoric relating to disabled people. I could talk about Dr. Mehmet Oz’s nomination as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator and his plan to alter Medicaid’s structure. I could discuss how Linda McMahon’s plan to eliminate the Department of Education as the Secretary of Education would decimate access to support resources for disabled students. I could analyze Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s grossly misunderstood claim that veterans are receiving unnecessary disability benefits. However, in the interest of not sounding like a broken record and preventing this series from being twenty parts long, I feel this is a sufficient place to stop for now. All in all, Donald Trump, the policies that he and his political allies support, and the people he has delegated power to within his administration will negatively impact the United States’ disabled population. The precedents that Trump established during his first term, the precedents that have already been established by the plethora of executive orders Trump has already signed during his second term and the longstanding beliefs of his colleagues all point to a challenging four years for the estimated 70 million disabled adults in the United States.
To end this series, I want to say something to my fellow disabled people. While we can always hope and fight for change within the Trump administration, I would advise my fellow disabled people to hold strong, continue advocating for themselves, and weather this storm together. Our country’s leadership may disappoint us, but our country’s community can still provide positivity, faith and relief in the most trying of times.