Trump accused of spreading disinformation after making bizarre claim linking trans people to computer chips
A US congresswoman has accused Donald Trump of spreading disinformation after the President claimed that companies receiving billions of dollars in government funding for computer chip manufacturing were required to be run by trans people.
The controversy erupted after Trump criticised the CHIPS and Science Act, a bipartisan law signed by former President Joe Biden that committed around $52 billion (£39 billion) to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the United States.
Speaking at the Pennsylvania Defence and Innovation Summit, Trump claimed companies seeking funding under the scheme faced diversity requirements so strict that "if you weren't transgender, as an example, you didn't qualify". He went on to suggest firms were forced to search for trans people to run their businesses.
However, the legislation contains no such requirement and makes no reference to trans executives. In response, Democratic congresswoman Doris Matsui, one of the architects of the CHIPS Act, publicly challenged the President's remarks.
"As one of the architects of the CHIPS Act, let me be clear: Donald Trump is lying," Matsui said. She accused the President of "deliberately spewing disinformation to incite hatred and divide Americans" while attacking a major investment in manufacturing and economic growth.
The comments prompted widespread confusion and criticism, with journalists and fact-checkers scrambling to establish what Trump was referring to. Multiple outlets reported that the law contains no provisions relating to transgender people and no requirement for companies to appoint transgender executives in order to receive funding.
Some commentators speculated online that Trump may have confused the words "transistor" and "transgender", given that the legislation is focused on semiconductor manufacturing. However, fact-checkers found no evidence that he misspoke, instead concluding that he appeared to be making a broader political attack on diversity and inclusion policies.
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