The theme of President Trump’s State of the Union address was the strength of America, but it also called for healing from what he described as the wounds left by the Biden administration and Democratic leadership. During the address, Trump recognized Michelle and Sage Blair, whose painful experience underscores the controversy surrounding gender ideology and parental rights. Their story has received little national attention over the past five years, making the president’s acknowledgment especially significant to their family and other families who suffered a similar fate.
In 2021, Sage was a fourteen-year-old Virginia girl with a long history of trauma and loss. She was adopted by her loving grandmother (who she calls mom) when she was two years old. In her 8th and 9th grade years, Sage got swept up in the trans contagion and was socially transitioned by her school behind her mother’s back. Sage was bullied and vulnerable at school, and her legal mother knew none of this because the state of Virginia mandated that the schools keep gender identity a secret from loving parents.
When the school failed her, Sage ran away from home into the arms of online predators and was sex trafficked into DC and Maryland. She was found and detained by the authorities in Maryland. However, this isn’t even the worst part of the story. Sage was not allowed to go home because Michelle accidentally used her daughter's so-called "wrong name" and was being investigated for abuse. Plus, her court-appointed lawyer lied to Sage and told her that her family no longer wanted her because she was trans, which couldn’t have been further from the truth. Sage was sent to a boys' group home, where she was repeatedly assaulted, and she ran away again to be drugged and trafficked for months.
Because of Michelle’s tenacity, she found Sage in Texas through a social media tip. Sage was returned to the safety of her family by Texas officials and quickly desisted from her male identity because she figured out that her trans identity was a trauma response. None of that mattered to the activists, school personnel, social workers, lawyers, judges, or Democrat politicians who kept her from her safe and loving family. Sage is their sacrificial lamb, and they didn’t care. They continue to do everything in their power to cover up her tragic story. They pretend to care about children with their “protect trans kids” slogan, while they act like Sage doesn’t exist.
However, Trump’s public recognition of Sage and Michelle brought national attention to a story that has largely remained out of the mainstream spotlight. The mainstream media and Democrats refuse to acknowledge the horrors that their policies created. The fact that very few people know this story is not an accident because then the Democrats would have to admit that they sent a young girl into the arms of sex traffickers.
Despite the blackout by Democrats and mainstream media, there has been an attempt by Republicans in Virginia to protect other children from a similar fate. They have tried to pass Sage’s law (HB 2182) three times, but state Democrats have overruled it each time. Sage’s law would require schools to notify parents if their child expresses a desire to transition or expresses any gender distress socially. It will involve parents in decisions about gender-related support. The Democrats believe they know better than families, yet they failed 14-year-old Sage, and they continue to fail other children in similar situations.
Although the story isn’t over, Trump’s address to Sage and Michelle was a redemption. Sage’s story is no longer hidden. Sage’s law, or something similar will be proposed again in Virginia and other states. Michelle and Sage have an active lawsuit with The Child and Parents Rights Campaign. Thanks to the love and tenacity of her family and the resources of grassroots organizations, Sage is doing well and is headed to Liberty University. The wounds of the past will never fully go away, but justice will prevail.
Pamela Garfield-Jaeger is a licensed therapist. She is a regular contributor for Human Events and the author of “A Practical Response to Gender Distress: Tips and Tools for Families," as well as “Froggy Girl," a charming children’s book about self-acceptance. Her X handle is: @pgarfieldjaeger.
