Trump didn’t bring up LGBT rights in Saudi Arabia, despite attacking Clinton for the same thing
Donald Trump, who repeatedly used LGBT rights in Saudi Arabia to attack Hillary Clinton, failed to actually bring up LGBT rights during his Presidential trip to Saudi Arabia.
During the Presidential campaign, the Republican billionaire had lashed out at the former Secretary of State over her charity foundation taking money from the country.
He wrote in June last year: “Saudi Arabia and many of the countries that gave vast amounts of money to the Clinton Foundation want women as slaves and to kill gays. Hillary must return all money from such countries!”
The GOP candidate also raised the issue during a Presidential debate, claiming: “It’s a criminal enterprise. Saudi Arabia giving $25 million… all of these countries.
“You talk about women and women’s rights? So these are people that push gays off business — off buildings. These are people that kill women and treat women horribly. And yet you take their money.”
But despite repeatedly attacking Clinton for failing to stand up for LGBT rights in the country, Trump himself failed to raise the topic during a visit over the weekend while signing a lucrative arms deal that helps solidify the regime’s control.
Trump spent several days in the country on an international trip, signing an arms deal with the Saudi King Salman.
But during his visit, failed to raise LGBT rights once. A statement said the visit focused on “underscoring the deep and longstanding commitment of the United States to the security, stability, and prosperity of Saudi Arabia”, as well as “working jointly to address challenges to regional peace and security”.
Saudi Arabia is one of the most barbaric regimes in the world when it comes to LGBT rights.
Homosexuality is illegal, and gay people can face public flogging, torture and even execution. Vigilante attacks are also common, while authorities are known to ‘hunt’ for gay people.
But Trump lavished praise on King Salman.
The US President said: “I have always heard about the splendor of your country and the kindness of your citizens, but words do not do justice to the grandeur of this remarkable place and the incredible hospitality you have shown us from the moment we arrived.”
He added: “I stand before you as a representative of the American People, to deliver a message of friendship and hope. That is why I chose to make my first foreign visit a trip to the heart of the Muslim world, to the nation that serves as custodian of the two holiest sites in the Islamic Faith.”
In a speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit, Trump said that countries must “stand together against the murder of innocent Muslims, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews, and the slaughter of Christians” – but left out the widespread persecution of LGBT people.
The leader will also pay a visit to the Vatican on his trip.
Related: WikiLeaks outs gay people in Saudi Arabia in ‘reckless’ mass data dump
