Trump cast a wide net into Colorado’s waters, hoping to catch every rainbow trout he could find. The attempt failed spectacularly, leaving him to eat his own words instead of fish for dinner. His hunger for control and leverage wasn’t enough to convince the courts to feed him what he wanted. The belief that presidential power allows him to bypass safeguards designed to protect patients from discrimination isn’t strength—It’s recklessness, and it aligns seamlessly with his administration’s ongoing campaign against transgender Americans.
Trump’s effort to subpoena sensitive medical records from Children’s Hospital Colorado and other major hospitals collapsed when providers pushed back, citing patient-rights protections and state law. Once again, his attempt to identify, surveil, and intimidate a vulnerable population faltered because human rights still outweigh personal politics in this country. When a president targets children seeking affirming care, it pulls back the curtain on the entire agenda: exploit the weakest points, apply pressure wherever possible, and hope the structure eventually cracks. What he fails to realize is that there’s no gold inside that rock—only suppression and lives forced into fear and inauthenticity. History books are full of examples like this. The question is whether America recognizes the pattern in time.
The courts were unequivocal. There was no basis for the subpoena: no evidence, no authority, no justification. Yet Trump responded with escalation. Like a child who believes wanting something makes it theirs, he reached for another lever of power—this time through the Department of Health and Human Services. Unable to obtain records, his administration turned to financial coercion.
By threatening and withdrawing federal funding, hospitals like Denver Health and Children’s Hospital Colorado were forced to change policy, suspending gender-affirming care for youth. Pulling funding doesn’t punish institutions first—It harms families, disabled individuals, caregivers, and already-overburdened healthcare systems. It increases stress, instability, and risk in a country already facing housing shortages and food insecurity.
This tactic is familiar. Public assistance programs have been repeatedly targeted, from SNAP to smaller funding pools that affect fewer people and draw less attention. The strategy is simple: Apply pressure where resistance is weakest and hope compliance follows. But power does not come before policy. Rights to privacy, medical autonomy, and equal protection were not granted by any one president—They were embedded into the framework of this nation long before Trump arrived, and they are not his to revoke.
Colorado isn’t merely refusing. We are standing at the front lines—in courts, hospitals, and communities — rejecting the abuse of power outright. We stand with youth, with families, and with the principle that care rooted in fear is not care at all. Medical decisions cannot be coerced, and presidential status will never absolve anyone of the responsibility to protect Americans—individually, ethically, and without discrimination.
