Donald Trump just sent invites to a ‘Trump Pride’ rally with no mention of LGBT+ people – or his 181 attacks on the community
Donald Trump holds an LGBT+ Pride flag given to him by supporter. (Getty/ Chip Somodevilla)
Donald Trump is hold a “Trump Pride” rally Tuesday (October 13) in what is perhaps the most confusing plot twist of 2020.
The invitation to “Trump Pride”, a free event in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, was released Saturday (October 10) — just three days before the event is set to take place — and contained no mention of the LGBT+ community whatsoever.
The only details revealed were that the event would be hosted by the president’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump, and Richard Grenell, who served previously as Trump’s interim director of national intelligence and was the first of very few gay officials in the Trump administration.
A screenshot of the invite was shared on Twitter by SiriusXM host Michelangelo Signorile, who wrote: “Look at this closeted event, in which neither ‘gay’ nor ‘LGBTQ’ is mentioned, Trump himself is not involved, and the whole thing is in code: ‘Pride’ in rainbow letters.”
Signorile noted: “They’ve not announced this anywhere, lest the religious right find out.
“Meanwhile, they’re trying to put a woman on the Supreme Court who will destroy marriage equality.”
They've not announced this anywhere, lest the religious right find out.
Meanwhile, they're trying to put a woman on the Supreme Court who will destroy marriage equality.
— Michelangelo Signorile (@MSignorile) October 11, 2020
“Trump Pride” will take place during the same week that the Senate Judiciary Committee begins the process of confirming Amy Coney Barrett, the president’s nominee to replace LGBT+ rights hero Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
Barrett has been accused of cozying up to groups that “fan the flames” of anti-trans rhetoric and of posing a direct threat to equal marriage.
Donald Trump thinks he’s an LGBT+ ally.
Although there was no official announcement by the Trump administration, the president’s campaign website has been updated to promote the event.
The description of the event, superimposed over a rainbow Pride flag, reads: “President Donald J Trump is the only president to openly support the LGBT community since his first day in office.
“President Trump stands in solidarity with LGBT citizens by supporting and enacting policies and initiatives that protect the wellbeing and prosperity of all gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans.
“Trump Pride is a diverse coalition dedicated to re-electing president Trump, the first president to begin his presidency in support of marriage equality.
“Through his bold plan to end the HIV epidemic to his global campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in the 69 nations where it is illegal, president Trump has proven himself to be a strong advocate for the LGBT community both at home and abroad.”
Despite claims that he “supports the LGBT+ community”, the Trump administration has attacked queer Americans time and time again since he took office – 181 times to be exact, according to GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project.
Although much-touted by gay Trump supporters, there is little evidence that a US-led “global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality in the 69 nations where it is illegal” has ever existed beyond an initial press release.
