The mother of a Virginia teenager expressed her gratitude to President Donald Trump for bringing attention to her daughter’s situation during his State of the Union address. She plans to file a lawsuit against the school for transitioning her daughter without her knowledge.
“It felt surreal and meant so much,” Michelle Blair, the mother of Sage Blair, shared on Wednesday, reflecting on the president’s comments.
Sage was mentioned as one of Trump’s guests in his address, which highlighted her experience. The president noted that when Sage was 14, school officials in Virginia tried to socially transition her to a new gender, presenting her as a boy while allegedly keeping her parents in the dark.
Trump recounted that after Sage ran away, she was placed in a state facility designated for boys. He praised her for her resilience, calling her a “proud and wonderful young woman” who has since earned a full scholarship to Liberty University.
Michelle Blair told Carly Shimkus that she is thankful for the spotlight on this troubling issue, indicating that many other children are going through similar experiences. She mentioned that the school’s approach romanticized the situation, noting that Sage had wanted to identify as a boy but faced severe bullying. “If I had been informed about the bullying,” she stated, “I could have potentially prevented a lifelong nightmare for her.”
Attorney Bernadette Broyles added that following Sage’s escape, she was trafficked across several states before authorities recovered her in Texas.
“It’s been a nightmare… I’m not sure if she’ll recover from this,” Blair conveyed during an interview on “Fox & Friends First.”
Broyles stated that the family’s legal actions have begun in federal court, including a Title IX complaint lodged in the Western District of Virginia on behalf of Sage. She also highlighted that the right of Michelle Blair to guide her daughter’s religious upbringing had been breached and that they would be adding claims about the free exercise of religion to their complaint.
“This is a deeply troubled young woman caught in a flawed system,” Broyles remarked, emphasizing the risks involved when schools keep secrets from loving parents.
Fox News had attempted to reach out to Appomattox County Public Schools for a comment but had yet to receive a response.
