A transgender activist and model triggered outrage by flashing her breasts at the White House after a meeting with Joe Biden.

Rose Montoya, 27, met the US president and First Lady Jill Biden at the largest Pride celebration in White House history on Saturday.

In a short video shared to her Instagram page, Miss Montoya can be seen shaking Mr Biden’s hand and telling him “trans rights are human rights”.

A later clip shows the model standing with several friends as she briefly exposes her breasts on the South Lawn as someone shouts: “Are we topless at the White House?”

The video sparked an online backlash, with many claiming her actions were inappropriate.

Responding to the critics, the model shared a further video with her 103,000 followers in which she defended herself.

She said: “Why is my chest now deemed inappropriate or illegal when I show it off, however before coming out as trans it was not?

“All you’re doing is affirming that I am a woman. All you’re doing is saying that trans women are women because for some reason, people like to sexualise women’s bodies and say that they’re inappropriate.

“My transmasculine friends were showing off their top surgery scars and living in joy, and I wanted to join them.”

She added: “And because it is perfectly within the law in Washington, DC, I decided to join them and cover my nipples just to play it safe, because I wanted to be fully free and myself.

“I had zero intention of trying to be vulgar or be profane in any way, I was simply living in joy, living my truth and existing in my body.”

At the event, Mr Biden made a speech calling for the protection of the rights and safety of LGBT people amid a spate of “terrifying” attacks on the community.

“When families across the country face excruciating decisions to relocate to a different state to protect their child from dangerous anti-LGTBQ laws, we have to act. We need to push back against the hundreds of callous and cynical bills introduced in states targeting transgender children, terrifying families and criminalising doctors and nurses,” he said.

“These bills and laws attack the most basic values and freedoms we have as Americans,” he said.

His speech drew cheers and applause from the crowd, many of whom wore shorts and sundresses in rainbow colours along with some dressed in drag.

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