On his way to becoming president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump once made a vow to “protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of the hateful, foreign ideology.”

Trump’s vow came in July, a full month after the shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando that had ignited Americans’ fears regarding foreign terrorism reaching American soil.

Now, as president-elect, Trump has backed off previous claims he made regarding appointing justices to the Supreme Court who would work to repeal its 2015 decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

Yet taking a closer look, Trump’s administration could result in seismic effects that could harm the LGBTQ community.

Just under Trump is his Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the Indiana governor who has a history of opposing LGBTQ rights.

“Mike Pence is really, really out there on his anti-gay politics,” said Rachel Maddow of MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.” “[Trump] picked as his running mate the most vociferously and consistently anti-gay statewide elected official in the country. There is no statewide elected official anywhere in America that has more to brag about in terms of his anti-gay credentials.”

Pence’s track record has seen him serve on the board of an anti-LGBTQ group, oppose the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and even signed a bill that would throw same-sex couples applying for marriage licenses in jail.

Pence poses to be the biggest threat and the deciding factor in LGBTQ rights, as it appears Pence could influence the Trump administration’s would-be support of the First Amendment Defense Act. If passed, the act would exist to protect the rights of citizens who oppose same-sex marriage from punishment by the federal government.

Simultaneously, this would also see the LGBTQ community face heavy discrimination in the workplace, businesses and government as it defends religious beliefs. Pence’s viewpoints could also drastically influence the outcome in the battle for transgender bathroom rights. Although Trump stated in April that he felt transgender people should “use the bathroom they feel is appropriate,” Pence has long combatted the issue, rejecting President Barack Obama’s stance on the matter claiming, “The federal government has no business getting involved in issues of this nature.”

The common theme throughout Trump’s presidential campaign has been the fear of basic human rights being denied to specific groups in this nation. While Trump remains the biggest threat to the rights of minority groups such as Latino, Hispanics, Muslims and Blacks, Pence is virtually the Adolf Hitler to the LGBTQ community.

To believe Trump’s claim that he will “do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens” is incomprehensible, as Trump’s ambiguous ideals tend to change like the weather. On the other hand, Pence has firmly planted his feet in the ground on his beliefs regarding the LGBTQ community, utilizing his political career to orchestrate a witch hunt against LGBTQ peoples.

It is for these reasons that people must not accept the possibility of losing their basic human rights and must continue to fight for them, as this becomes their greatest battle in the quest for equality. Eight years of progress threatens to be unraveled and discarded by an administration that shares a hateful, nihilistic rhetoric.

Will they succeed or will the power of love conquer the love for power?