*This is posted by MSN

Trump posted an article to his Truth Social account this weekend featuring a deeply troubling image: a pink triangle—the Nazi-era symbol used to identify and persecute gay men in concentration camps—covered with a red prohibited sign. Historically, the LGBTQ+ rights movement reclaimed the pink triangle as a symbol of resistance, pride, and remembrance.

Trump Truth Social© Truth Social

The article itself titled, “Army recruitment ads look quite different under Trump,” published by the Washington Times praises Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for refocusing the military on “lethality” and reversing Biden-era policies that embraced diversity, including ads featuring LGBTQ+ soldiers.

Holocaust Museum Exhibit of Nazi concentration camp badges Max, Wikipedia Commons© Max, Wikipedia Commons

The image, placed in the context of military recruitment, strongly suggests a rejection of LGBTQ+ service members, at least in the terms of recruitment, under Trump’s leadership.

Military ads recruitment illustration Washington Times© Washington Times

Trump’s choice to amplify such an image is particularly alarming given Hegseth’s past statements.

Prisoners wearing triangles in the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen, Germany, December 19, 1938 Heinrich Hoffman Collection / NARA© Heinrich Hoffman Collection / NARA

He has long opposed LGBTQ+ inclusion in the military, previously criticizing the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Now, under his leadership, Trump appears to be reinforcing the idea that LGBTQ+ individuals are unwelcome in the armed forces—not just through policy but through amplifying symbolic messaging with disturbing historical roots. 

Trump’s amplification of a Nazi-era symbol to promote this shift sends a message signaling a return to exclusionary policies that many believed were left in the past.