Palm Springs - In a banquet hall filled with more than 1,000 people raising funds for LGBTQ+ young people, experienced California legislative leader Toni Atkins didn’t say anything: To be a gay or transgender teen now, she said, “must pull out the carpet from under your feet.”

Atkins, who runs for California Governor, said in a heated speech at the annual Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast that President Trump and other Republicans are working to “legise our trans siblings to legislation from public life.”

"These are more than just political stunts: these acts put life at risk and deprive basic human dignity," Atkins said. "So listen to me: trans people belong to me. Trans youth deserve love, joy and protection from us."

Atkins' speech, which drew a lot of applause, glimpses Trump's efforts to undermine California's liberal values, including support for trans Americans, will be at the heart of the state's 2026 gubernatorial campaign.

Within his first 100 days, Trump issued an executive order banning trans women from participating in women's movements and forbidding the federal government from recognizing other genders other than men or women.

Trump also urged a ban on trans Americans from entering the U.S. military and wrote through an executive order that trans identities are "false" that are inconsistent with "humility and selflessness required by service members." The Supreme Court cleared the way the ban came into effect last week.

"The cruelty and humiliating attempts seem to be the focus of what they are doing," said trans women, former Palm Springs Mayor Lisa Middleton.

The LGBTQ+ community has become a political force that shapes policies and movements across the state.

Other Democrats who ran to replace Gavin Newsom also expressed strong support for LGBTQ+ rights, including Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Antonio Villaraigosa, former Betty Yee and Supt. Public guidance Tony Thurmond.

According to the California Public Policy Institute, about 2.8 million lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people live in California, not any other state, and Californians overwhelmingly support laws protecting the LGBTQ+ community.

Last year, overwhelming voters of California voters passed a voting measure to incorporate the rights of same-sex marriage into the state constitution. A proposed voting initiative would limit trans youth health care and require schools to notify parents of their children of gender identity that fail to obtain enough signatures to get the November vote.

Last year, the Los Angeles Times vote found that more than a quarter of Americans see issues related to trans and nonbinary people (which affects a small percentage of the U.S. population) are distracted by more pressing policy issues.

“The Conservatives are taking advantage of the real problem at hand that conservatives are distracting, which is a trap,” said Evan Low, a former member of the California Legislature and the new president of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.

Former state Senate President Pro Tempore is the former president of the parliament, Atkins, the only gay lead candidate in the governor’s race, said in an interview that she “revealed that what I do is important as a woman and as a member of the gay community.” She said she supports a bill passed by the California Legislature a decade ago that allows students to participate in sports teams that match their gender identity.

"This administration uses it as a weapon and politicizes it," Atkins said. "That's cruel."

An Associated Press poll found in early May that Trump’s handling of transgender issues was more popular than his job performance overall. A New York Times poll conducted in January found that nearly 80% of Americans, including two-thirds of Democrats, opposed the idea of ​​trans women participating in the women's movement.

“Democrats are trying to find their voice in many things, but don’t know what to do.” said Hank Plante, a political journalist and former researcher at the Center for the Future of the Political, who lives in Palm Springs with her husband. "They want to be true to their foundation and the principles of equal rights. But, at the same time, when you start talking about gender issues and young people about non-compliance, it's a loser."

Last fall, one of the worst attack ads of the Trump campaign showed clips from former Vice President Kamala Harris said she would support gender-change surgery for inmates in California prisons, then ended with: “Kamala for them/them.

"She didn't even react to it, which was even more devastating," Newsom said in his recent podcast. "Brutal. It's a great ad."

In the same episode, Newsom told conservative commentator Charlie Kirk that it was "very unfair" for trans girls to play on women's sports teams. Newsom has previously supported a California law signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown that allows transgender students to participate in sports games and use the bathroom based on their gender preference.

The uproar after the news magazine comments highlights the complexity the Democrats face on the issue, with some Democrats claiming Newsom strategically abandoning a vulnerable crowd in preparation for a future presidential campaign.

Christopher M. Ward (D-San Diego), chairman of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, said the governor's remarks made him "deeply disgusting and frustrated".

But Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, one of the most famous Republicans running for governor, said he agreed with Newsom's opinion - if elected, an executive order would be signed banning "boys who participate in the girls' sports."

Ron Deharte, Mexican-American Mayor of Palm Springs, warned in his speech at Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast that the LGBTQ+ community and its allies will “with greater enthusiasm in March – we will do more than ever.”

DeHart said to the crowd: "If you are a member of the army - transgender or not - if you are willing to fight for me, then I have to be willing to fight for you."

In an interview, Deharte said elected officials are now facing a moral test of whether to issue a Trump administration policy, who they believe they have hurt their communities and risk losing federal funds.

He said all eyes were focused on Maine, where the Trump administration stopped all federal education funding after Democratic Gov. Janet Mills refused to follow Trump's instructions to ban transgender girls from participating in the girls' movement.

“It’s a challenging route,” DeHart said. “You have to make sure you have not only the right moral status, but the right legal status.”

Since Trump took office, federal officials have positioned California’s goal as laws aimed at protecting trans students.

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating the California Interschool Federation, which oversees athletics in more than 1,500 high schools, while the California Department of Education under a law that prohibits schools from automatically notifying families about issues related to students’ gender identity.

Gay and trans high school students are currently experiencing fear, like “a bit of a closed,” but Delana Martin-Marshall, an art teacher at Fontana AB Miller High School, said.

She and her wife are physical education teachers at the school, driving from two vans in the school’s gay alliance to Harvey’s Milk Diversity Breakfast.

"Students are really scared," she said. "Fear of themselves."

Attendees said state officials were barely able to reverse the White House decision on issues such as military qualifications and passports, but the state could still be a refuge for gay and transgender students, including funding and legal protections for gender-inconsistent students and gay couples.

"The state must prepare for what is coming," Plant said, noting that when the Supreme Court overturned Roy v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas agreed, which said the court "should reconsider" past rulings that degrade Americans' right to contraceptive, same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage.

Christopher Martinez, 32, joined fellow Desert Academy classmates for Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast, hoping the next governor will focus on daily issues affecting trans and gay college students, including rising life and housing insecurities.

“Everything is getting very expensive,” Martinez said.