US President Donald Trump ‘very sympathetic’ to the plight of transgender students?

That’s what White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer claimed a day after Trump’s administration rescinded federal guidelines put in place to protect transgender students at school – especially when it comes to using the bathroom.

Spicer was hammered with questions from the press on the controversy including what kind of message the president is sending with this move.

‘I think the message shows that he’s a guy with a heart that understands the trouble that many people go through,’ Spicer said. ‘He is very sympathetic to children who deal with that and that this is up to states and schools within a particular district to address how they want to accommodate that.’

Spicer was asked if the administration considers this to be a civil rights issue and he repeatedly said it is a states rights issue. He also blamed the Obama administration for the method in which it implemented the guidance last year.

‘If this were any other issue, people would be crying foul that the process wasn’t followed,’ he said.

Spicer claimed that a state ‘should enact laws that reflect the values, principles and will of the people in their particular state. That’s it, plain and simple.’

Spicer repeatedly tried to portray Trump as personally in favor of transgender protections but also concerned with states rights. As proof, he pointed to Caitlyn Jenner once using the female bathroom at Trump Tower without incident.

‘The president was asked at one point Caitlyn Jenner was in Trump Tower and he said, “That’s great.” That’s consistent with everything he said. It’s a states rights issue. …The president obviously understands the issue and the challenges that especially young children face … what he doesn’t want to do is force his issues or beliefs.’

The release of detailed guidance by the Departments of Education and Justice came last May as the federal government sued the state of North Carolina for its law forcing trans students to use bathrooms matching the gender on their birth certificate.

A school risked losing federal funding if it treated a trans student differently from the way it treated other students of the same gender identity.

The guidance provided clarity on the right of students to not be discriminated against, or bullied because of their gender identity.

It also covered the right to be addressed by the names and pronouns that correspond to their identity and using the bathroom matching their gender identity, among others.