Trump kisses lesbian officer who stopped shooting attempt on congressional baseball practice
Donald Trump has faced another round of backlash after kissing a lesbian police officer who helped to stop a mass shooting attempt on a congressional basketball practice.
President Trump was awarding Crystal Griner with a Medal of Valor for her efforts in preventing the attack that took place in June.
The award is the highest honour that public safety officers can get.
Griner and four other officers visited the White House to receive the medal on Thursday (July 27) and the event was filmed by the press.
As each person collected their award, they shook hands with the president.
However, as Griner collected her award Trump leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek – a move which has been deemed inappropriate.
On Twitter, people accused the President of harassing Griner, who is a lesbian.
A video of the kiss is below.
One person wrote: “Maybe Trump’s forced kiss on openly gay Capitol Police officer Crystal Griner was part of Pence’s conversion therapy”.
Another said: “WHY DID YOU HAVE TO KISS CRYSTAL GRINER? But then shake hands with all the men?”
“Trump doesn’t understand personal space does he? Crystal Griner reached out for a handshake & he came in for a kiss on the cheek,” somebody else added.
A number of people took the misguided move as an opportunity to comment on the Trump administration’s roll back on LGBT rights.
“Seeing hero Crystal Griner on crutches have to shake Trump’s hand on the week he tries to take away her LGBT rights is particularly galling,” one person wrote.
Griner was celebrated for her actions as she saved some of the Republicans who wanted to deny her the right to marry.
President Trump awards Capitol Hill police officer with the Medal of Valor https://t.co/ZyrTIqvHLw https://t.co/7jSipJ642l
— CNN (@CNN) July 27, 2017
Among those present at the practice were Rand Paul, who has claimed he personally finds it “offensive” to refer to same-sex marriage as marriage, and Roger Williams, who claims same-sex marriages are “fraudulent” and a “federal intrusion on the states’ constitutional right to self-governance”.
