Tiffany Trump at a “Trump Pride” rally — Photo: The Recount / Twitter
Allies of Donald Trump have been attempting to paint the president as pro-LGBTQ in the leadup to the election, including throwing “Trump Pride” rallies and releasing videos claiming that Trump is the most “pro-gay” president in history.
But a new video from The Recount has laid bare the lies behind those claims, cutting between statements from Melania Trump and Tiffany Trump and news coverage of the Trump administration’s more than 180 attacks on LGBTQ people.
It contrasts comments from the First Lady complaining that people are painting her husband as “anti-gay or against equality” with footage of CNN’s Kate Bolduan reporting on Donald Trump banning transgender people from serving in the military — a decision he announced via tweet in 2017.
Melania Trump says that her husband was “the first president to enter the White House supporting gay marriage,” before the video cuts to Donald Trump saying he is “for traditional marriage” in a 2015 interview.
It also shows the president’s daughter Tiffany Trump appearing at a Trump Pride rally, where she avoided including the T for transgender in the LGBTQ acronym and claimed her father doesn’t judge people based on who they love — a statement contrasted with the Trump administration denying visas to the married same-sex partners of United Nations diplomats.
Other damning indictments of Trump’s LGBTQ record include arguing that civil rights laws don’t prevent discrimination against gay people, removing transgender discrimination protections from the Affordable Health Care Act during a global pandemic, and allowing homeless shelters to refuse access to transgender individuals.
“The Trump family has spent the campaign’s closing days whitewashing the president’s abysmal record on LGBTQ issues,” The Recount said in a tweet, adding: “Let’s roll the tape.”
Watch the video below:
The Trump family has spent the campaign's closing days whitewashing the president's abysmal record on LGBTQ issues.
Donald Trump’s lesbian niece, Mary Trump, recently criticized any characterization of the president as an LGBTQ ally.
She claims that Trump is “uncomfortable” around gay and transgender people, and said it was “absurd” that her uncle believes that gay people “love” him.
“What’s worse [is] that on some level, he’s actually convinced himself that that is true,” she said. “Anyone who takes that seriously should be discounted out of hand.”
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Rhuaridh Marr is Metro Weekly's online editor. He can be reached at rmarr@metroweekly.com.
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