“The gays love me,” proclaimed U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump on the campaign trial at rallies and on television and radio news interviews. “I’m much better for the gays,” he insists.
But after a campaign full of so much hateful rehetoric and dog-whistling to hate groups — all while standing upon a historically anti-LGBT national Republican party platform and beside a running mate (whom he chose) notorious for promoting discrimination against LGBT people — could there be any truth to Trump’s proclamation?
According to a recent report in The Washington Times (okay, not exactly a progressive voice but an accurate, if rather slanted, accounting here), the Republican then-nominee “made history Sunday and the political media barely noticed. Or maybe they did see it — but since it didn’t fit the narrative of what a Republican is supposed to look like they decided to ignore it.”
Says the Times, Trump “proudly held up a rainbow flag with the words ‘LGBT for Trump’ written on it to a cheering crowd of thousands.”
As Trump walked onto the stage, he “spotted a rainbow flag in the audience. As the music blasted through the speakers, Mr. Trump pointed to a supporter as if to ask if he could see his flag and then motioned for a campaign worker to help retrieve the LGBT symbol of equality from the attendee.”
“It was an historic moment for gay equality and the Party of Lincoln as the 2016 GOP nominee for President of the United States held high the flag for gay equality. No other Republican Presidential nominee in history has embraced the LGBT community in such a loud and proud way,” the Times reported.
Okay. Maybe so. And Trump’s rainbow flag–brandishing incident is definitely worth noting.
But the Times earns itself some “truth Pinocchios” by suggesting that the gay-friendly gesture wasn’t much reported — in actuality, it did make CNN, MSNBC, along with Variety and other print news sources — and by stating that it wasn’t reported because the story “didn’t fit the narrative” of how the media prefers to portray the President Elect.
For one, there’s this from the New York Times on November 10:
Mr. Trump has no reputation for personal animosity toward gay people, and the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay and lesbian political organization, congratulated him on his victory. He employed gay people in the Trump Organization, spent most of his life in socially liberal New York City, and surprised some Republicans this year when he said transgender people should “use the bathroom they feel is appropriate,” a view held by few others in the party.
However, way more important is that the “narrative” of how the media is portraying Trump’s stance on LGBT issues matches up pretty well with what his ticket says it plans to do.
For starters, there’s the sticky issue of his running mate. As Variety sums it up in the November 9 report (which also covers the rainbow flag waving):
In his home state of Indiana, Vice President-elect Mike Pence signed numerous anti-gay legislation, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015, which allowed individuals and businesses to deny service to LGBT people. In the 2000 election, Pence said money raised by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program should go to organizations “which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.” So-called “conversion therapy” has been called emotionally and physically harmful by many members of the LGBT community.
If Trump wants to appear gay-friendly, he must do so with actions that go beyond gestures, as welcome as these public gestures may be.
A necessary next step would be for him to square his “gay friendliness” with what his ticket actually says he and Pence plan to do, as outlined here by the HRC:
On Marriage Equality:
Republican officials continue to reject the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that gave same-sex couples the nationwide right to marry. The platform asserts that laws and government regulations should only “recognize marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” and explicitly calls for “judicial reconsideration or a Constitutional amendment returning control over marriage to states.”
The Trump/Pence ticket: Donald Trump opposes marriage equality — pledging to fill the Supreme Court vacancy with a justice who would overturn equality. Pence is also a longtime-foe and urged amending Indiana’s Constitution to outlaw marriage equality after section three of DOMA, which restricted the federal government from recognizing the legal marriages of same-sex couples, was ruled unconstitutional.
On Family and Society:
The platform “supports adoption organizations that refuse to serve gay couples,” and suggests that “children raised in households without a mother and father are more prone to use drugs, commit crime and get pregnant outside of marriage.” The platform also cites research that has been debunked and discredited, asserting that “children raised in a ‘traditional two-parent household’ are likelier to have healthier outcomes.”
The Trump/Pence ticket: As governor, Mike Pence’s “right to discriminate” bill could have allowed businesses to discriminate and deny service to LGBTQ people because of who they are or whom they love.
On the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA):
The platform vigorously endorses the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), a deeply discriminatory anti-LGBTQ bill that would sanction unprecedented taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBTQ people. Under FADA, individuals or organizations could deny spousal and parental rights, allow housing discrimination against LGBTQ people, or exclude surviving same-sex spouses from grief counseling programs, all while bankrolled by U.S. taxpayers.
The Trump/Pence ticket: Trump has committed to signing the so-called “First Amendment Defense Act,” a bill to enable taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBTQ people. Trump said at the Iowa Faith and Family Coalition, his priority as President would be to “preserve and protect our religious liberty.”
On Conversion Therapy:
The platform includes affirming language about so-called “conversion therapy,” a dangerous and discredited practice that falsely claims to change one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Republicans cited “parental rights” to justify supporting the practice, which is tantamount to child abuse. Former leaders of the conversion-therapy movement have denounced the practice and its presence on the RNC platform.
The Trump/Pence ticket: In 2000, Pence wanted to cut funding for HIV prevention and redirect the funds “toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.”
On Transgender Rights:
Republicans are using the platform to affirm their support for discriminatory, anti-LGBTQ bills in North Carolina and Mississippi targeting the transgender community. The platform in two separate amendments calls for legislation to prevent transgender people from “using public restrooms that align with their gender identity,” arguing speciously that it is “illegal and dangerous” and “alien to America’s history and traditions.”
The Obama Administration’s historic end of the discriminatory ban on transgender people serving openly in the military was also attacked by the platform committee, which crafted absurd language warning against the “modification or lessening of standards” throughout the military.
The Trump/Pence ticket: When asked about laws like North Carolina’s deeply discriminatory HB2, Trump said he supported the law, saying, “I’m going with the state. The state, they know what’s going on, they see what’s happening and generally speaking I’m with the state on things like this. I’ve spoken with your governor, I’ve spoken with a lot of people and I’m going with the state.” Trump previously told Sean Hannity that when it comes to laws like North Carolina’s HB2, Trump said he would “leave it up to the states.” Pence and Trump oppose guidance from the U.S. Department of Education that clarifies that transgender students have a right under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to access restrooms consistent with their gender identity, saying, “The federal government has no business getting involved in issues of this nature.”
On Non-Discrimination Protection for LGBTQ Americans:
While the official 2012 Republican Platform states that the party will “strongly enforce antidiscrimination statutes and ask all to join us in rejecting the forces of hatred and bigotry and in denouncing all who practice or promote racism, anti-Semitism, ethnic prejudice, or religious intolerance,” there are glaring exception: it excludes a number of state and federally protected classes, including sexual orientation and gender identity.
We at Boston Spirit would welcome any and all moves by President-Elect Trump away from these historically discriminatory positions; in the meantime, we trust the LGBT community will be focusing on them and working to support the progressive milestones we have worked so hard to achieve.
