Disgraced politician Aaron Schock and Trump ally Richard Grenell to lead Republican Pride event
Richard Grenell and Aaron Schock have been given top billing at a Republican Pride event (Getty)
Disgraced former representative Aaron Schock and former US ambassador Richard Grenell have been named as the guests of honour at a “Pride” gathering of gay Trump supporters.
Hosted by the Log Cabin Republicans, “OutSpoken Pride” in Nashville, Tennessee promises a rare gathering of gay MAGA fans and allies for panels, parties and Sunday brunch.
It’s telling that the horrorshow is headlined by Schock, whose claim to GOP queerdom comes after years of vehemently opposing LGBT+ equality.
The former congressman’s voting record shows he voted against lifting the ban on LGB people in the military, against extending hate crime protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity, and in favour of the Defence of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
He resigned in disgrace in 2015 following a scandal involving his alleged misuse of public and campaign funds, but hit the news again in March 2020 when he came out as gay after being photographed shoving dollar bills down a male stripper’s underwear at Coachella.
Lucky ticket holders can also hear from Richard Grenell, Trump’s deeply unpopular ambassador to Germany whose alleged global campaign to decriminalise homosexuality was labelled “a sham” by actual activists.
In similarly sketchy news he was also found to have undisclosed financial links to Hungary’s far-right government, one of the most homophobic regimes in the world.
Other Republican luminaries include D-list celebrity singer Ricky “American” Rebel and right-wing podcaster Spencer Klavan, who will be performing as “The Preacher”, whatever that means.
They’re joined by the proudly transphobic lesbian YouTuber Arielle Scarcella, who believes gender fluid and non-binary people don’t exist because they don’t support Trump.
A handful of other internet shysters and self-proclaimed political gurus will fill out the roster of speakers, including Rep. Josh Higganbotham (R-WV), Rep. Joe Alexander (R-NH), and Rep. Eddie Mannis (R-TN).
Count us out.
