The Trevor Project is a leading LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization that offers mental health services through phone, online chat, or text messages. They work with LGBTQ youth between the ages of 13 and 24 who struggle with depression, self-harm, or thoughts of suicide.

The organization published a report indicating that the day after the election, it received an outpouring of phone calls and text messages from troubled young people who were afraid of what will happen to them now that President-elect Donald Trump will be serving a second term:

When the presidential race was called for Donald Trump in the early hours of Wednesday, calls and texts to a leading LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention organization exploded in a massive outpouring of anxiety over the election results.

The Trevor Project saw an overall 700 percent increase in calls, texts and chats compared to prior weeks. The organization offers a lifeline via phone, online chat or text to LGBTQ+ youth who struggle with thoughts of depression, self-harm or suicide while navigating coming out to their families or facing discrimination. Right now, the services are experiencing long hold times at an especially vulnerable time for LGBTQ+ people.

LGBTQ+ youth are afraid, confused and anxious about the outcome of the election in these conversations, a spokesperson for the Trevor Project said. Their crisis services usually focus on supporting the mental health of queer and trans youth from ages 13 to 24 while they navigate relationships, gender identity and coming out. Now, the vast majority of young LGBTQ+ Americans are seeking emergency help due to what they described in text and chat messages to the helpline as “election anxiety.”

The report suggests that these fears “are the result of a political environment that has brought transphobia into the political mainstream, especially from Trump’s campaign”:

The former president’s campaign spent over $20 million on ads portraying trans people as harmful to society or attacking Vice President Kamala Harris’ support of trans people.

Trump has pledged to enact extreme anti-LGBTQ+ policies in his second term, such as attempting to charge teachers with sex discrimination for affirming students’ gender identities. Some of his proposals mimic state anti-LGBTQ+ laws that have gone into effect in the past few years.

This is a lie, of course. Trump has never vowed to charge teachers with discrimination over gender identity.

The report further suggests that state laws banning trans-identified males in female sports and prohibiting the use of “gender-affirming care” on minor children “have been steadily eroding the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth,” which makes them “more likely to attempt suicide.”

It would be disingenuous to pretend that there has not been vitriol leveled at LGBTQ folks from both the right and left. As someone who spends too much time on social media, I have seen it in spades. However, the notion that Republicans are the ones to blame for the anxiety many LGBTQ youths feel is a disgusting example of how Democrats manipulate these individuals through fear.

Indeed, the lie I referred to earlier is a prime example of what I’m talking about. Trump never said he would charge teachers for affirming a student’s chosen gender identity. Yet, folks on the left have sought to punish teachers who refuse to participate in the gender charade.

Perhaps it is the left’s incessant fearmongering that is leading these young people to experience more mental health problems?

For starters, leftist politicians and media figures paint the entire Republican Party and conservative movement with a broad brush, claiming they are adamant about oppressing members of the LGBTQ community. The reality is that while there are bigots in every party and movement, most of those who support the president-elect do not hate LGBTQ folks.

But they do oppose efforts to force female athletes to compete with men. They are rightly concerned about how progressives are pushing their ideology related to sexuality and gender ideology on children using government-run schools, while excluding parents from the process. Nobody is arguing that people should not be allowed to discuss these matters in school or other areas. But there is a difference between having conversations and an all-out attempt to influence young minds.

Nevertheless, folks on the left continue to terrify young LGBTQ folks with the notion that Trump and Republicans are going to target them for persecution, which is far from the truth.

By doing this, Democrats are conditioning LGBTQ people to associate any form of conservative politics with a threat and danger, which causes them to participate in the type of full-on meltdowns we are currently seeing on the left after Election Day. In essence, Democrats are eagerly using the mental illnesses many of these folks experience to manipulate them into supporting the party, which is an odious move.

The reality is that the left wants young LGBTQ individuals to panic and feel anxiety. They use the same tactics with racial minorities as well. If you’re Black, Trump is going to “put y’all back in chains.” If you’re Hispanic, Trump is going to deport you. If you’re a woman, he’s going to take away our “healthcare,” i.e. your ability to kill your unborn child.

Unfortunately, the fact that many of these individuals live in echo chambers makes it nearly impossible to counter the messages Democrats are inculcating them with. This means there is no easy way to show them that their lives are not in danger just because a Republican gets elected.