The new Netflix show Boots premiered on October 9, 2025, and has been doing well since its release. The show follows former US Marine Sergeant Greg Cope White and his life as a closeted homosexual back in the 1990s, who made the sudden decision to join the military.
Based on White’s memoir The Pink Marine, the new Netflix show has been praised for its realistic and respectful portrayal of a gay young man who joined the forces and started navigating life there, making friends and learning lessons.
Given the current political climate of the US and the Donald Trump administration’s targeted attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, Boots appears to be even more relevant and important in today’s time. Talking about the same, the show’s lead actor, Miles Heizerho, himself is gay. He told Variety, “When the show started filming [in 2023], I don’t think we intended to have this message that’s so relevant to serving today.”
He further added, “But then, of course, as we’re making it, all these things started happening. It’s very interesting that Boots shines a light on what’s actually happening now, even though the show is set in 1990. It’s upsetting.”
Proving how his thoughts and words are true, the Trump administration recently discovered the show and responded with their usual hatred for anything inclusive. The press secretary of the Pentagon, Kingsley Wilson, came forward to bash Boots and its creators.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Wilson said, “Under President Trump and Secretary [Pete] Hegseth, the US military is getting back to restoring the warrior ethos. Our standards across the board are elite, uniform, and s– neutral because the weight of a rucksack or a human being doesn’t care if you’re a man, a woman, gay, or straight.”
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She further added, “We will not compromise our standards to satisfy an ideological agenda, unlike Netflix whose leadership consistently produces and feeds woke garbage to their audience and children.”
However, the administration’s stark hatred for the show is actually working in its favor, as was clear from netizens’ comments who claimed that they would definitely watch Boots now that Trump and his aides are trashing it.
One user took to social media and mentioned, “Well I’m definitely going to watch it now.” Another one added, “Damn now I really need to watch it.” A third user said, “That’s what made me start it.”
While netizens are clearly not taking Trump and his administration’s hateful stance against the show, White, the author of the book on which Boots is based, talked to Forbes about how the number of gay teens taking their own lives every year hugely inspired him to write the show.
He said, “It made me think of the hell that I went through in boot camp and how difficult it was to survive that, but I just kept putting one boot in front of the other. I knew that it would hopefully get better, but when you’re in it, it’s awful.”
As Boots continues to perform well on Netflix and gathers praises from critics and viewers alike, it now remains to be seen if the Trump administration comes up with any new ways to bash the show and encourage people against viewing it.
