Tesla CEO Elon Musk had a witty response to a viral post on X that pointed out an unexpected search result on the US State Department’s website. The post indicated that the site suggested “trains” when users searched for the term “trans.” Musk’s comment, “That train has left,” accompanied by a train emoji, quickly went viral.
🚂
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 1, 2025
This humorous interaction evoked diverse reactions. Users would mock it and observe that the government has shifted its priorities. A user would say in a humorous manner, “Finally, the government prioritizes infrastructure over identity politics—progress!” Others would also joke, making the ambiguous result of the search more funny when they asked, “Did you mean transformers?”
Context of the Government’s Policy Shift
Although the internet squabbling is amusing, this exchange happens within a much larger context of policies by the United States administration under President Donald Trump. Among them, there has been a move by the Office of Personnel Management to have all references related to gender on government websites erased. This action aligns with the larger move by Trump regarding less content from LGBTQ+ perspectives, such as his executive order prohibiting transgender persons from joining the military.
Trump inked the order on January 27th while reiterating his will to expel “transgender ideology” from the military. “To ensure we have the most lethal fighting force in the world, we will get transgender ideology the hell out of our military. It’s going to be gone,” he declared.
Impact on Government Websites and LGBTQ+ Issues
These directives led to a massive overhaul, with removal of all gender references on government websites. For example, the State Department dropped the “X” gender marker from the passport application forms. Other alterations included the changing of the page formerly known as “Inmate Gender” at the Bureau of Prisons to “Inmate Sex” and removing LGBTQ+ history content on National Park Service sites.