Posted on 06/03/2019 5:54:01 AM PDT by Kaslin
Donald Trump has been called the most anti-LGBT president in our history. Yet he just became the first Republican president to celebrate LGBT pride month, also calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality worldwide. Does this indicate a shift in perspectives? Not according to gay journalist Michelangelo Signorile
In an article for the Daily Beast, he claimed that, “President Trump’s Anti-LGBT Agenda Is Louder Than His Pride Message.”
Signorile wrote that, “On Friday, President Trump tweeted a message in support of Pride month, which was breathtakingly disingenuous given his administration’s systematic assault on LGBT rights.”
Indeed, he claimed, “Trump’s celebration of Pride is as fraudulent and calculated as his claim to be fighting to decriminalize homosexuality. This is in fact an attempt to portray himself as supportive of LGBTQ people as he gears up for the 2020 re-election campaign.”
“The goal,” he wrote, “is less about getting much of the community’s backing—which will be near impossible—but more about keeping or getting the support of many others who might be turned off by blatant anti-LGBTQ bigotry.”
But would Trump really do this to win the votes of centrists while alienating his most important voting base, namely, conservative evangelical Christians? And is Trump naïve enough to think that a couple of tweets would change the minds of alienated voters?
Signorile actually spends most of his article detailing the many things Trump has done to oppose LGBT activism, right through the month of May. Surely Trump does not think that he can so easily change public perceptions.
On May 14, Tim Fitzsimons reported for NBC News that, “President Donald Trump opposes the passage of the Equality Act, a proposed bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal civil rights law to prevent discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.”
As explained by a White House official, “The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all. However, this bill in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights.”
This speaks louder than any celebratory tweet.
Fitzsimons also cited Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of the national LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD, who said that, “Trump's opposition to the Equality Act ‘further cements his administration’s legacy of being the most anti-LGBTQ government in recent memory.’”
Indeed, Ellis continued, “LGBTQ Americans will not forget the President’s politically craven flip-flop on this fair and just legislation.”
Yet Trump now tweets, “As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals....”
How do we explain this?
Let’s also remember that, during a recent interview on Fox News, Trump was asked, “Don't you think it's just great to see the fact that you've got a guy there on the stage with his husband and it's normal?”
He replied, “I think it's absolutely fine, I do.”
As CNN noted, “He agreed with Hilton's assessment that Buttigieg's candidacy is a ‘sign of great progress,’ adding, ‘Yeah, I think it's great. I think that's something that perhaps some people will have a problem with, I have no problem with it whatsoever.’”
Yet, during his tenure as president, Trump has reinstated the ban on transgenders serving in the military and worked against the Obama administration’s redefinition of sex (as if sex included gender perception), just to cite two examples of his opposition to LGBT activism.
Is he trying to play both ends against the middle? Or is there no rhyme or reason to his actions?
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I find a consistency to his words and actions.
On the one hand, as a man who spent many years as a New York liberal and Hollywood insider, he must have had plenty of good relationships with LGBT people.
So, on a personal level, he likes people like Peter Thiel, PayPal’s openly gay co-founder, who also spoke at the Republican National Convention. And on a professional level, he’s glad to have a man like Richard Grenell on his team. (Grenell is the openly gay Ambassador to Germany.)
In the same way, Trump said in 2016 he would have no problem with Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner using the bathroom of his choice at Trump Tower. And there’s little doubt that Jared and Ivanka would have been very much at home with many of President Obama’s LGBT sympathies.
As Ivanka tweeted in 2017, “Logging back on after Shavuot, wishing everyone a joyful #Pride2017. This month we celebrate and honor the #LGBTQ community.”
She added, “I am proud to support my LGBTQ friends and the LGBTQ Americans who have made immense contributions to our society and economy.” (Compare this to the president’s tweet, recognizing “the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation.”)
My impression, then, is that Donald Trump wants gays to be treated fairly and, as stated in the Fox interview, he has no personal issue with gay “marriage.”
But when he feels that LGBT activism infringes on the rights of others, especially conservative Christians, he will stand against that activism. Moreover, many of those he has appointed to serve in his administration have deeper, faith-based convictions that influence their worldview, and they are often on the front lines of pushing back against LGBT activism.
Put another way, Trump’s opposition to LGBT activism does not appear to spring from a biblical worldview as much as from a desire to support evangelical causes and protect religious liberties. And his policies certainly do not spring from personal animosity towards LGBT individuals.
Consequently, Trump has no problem celebrating LGBT pride in a tweet while at the same time opposing the so-called Equality Bill.
As an evangelical supporter of Trump, I would much rather that he did not muddy the waters with what appears to be a mixed message. But it’s who he has been since he announced his run for president. And overall, when the dust settles, he has done far more to oppose LGBT activism than to support it, as Signorile and his colleagues know all too well.
Decriminalizing homosexuality is not the same as promoting homosexuality.
LGBT is not the beach worth dying on. (Incidentally, the B, standing for “bi,” means there are only two sexes. I don’t even know what the word “gender” means anymore.)
Yeah, I'm sure Trump is going after the LGBT vote, and I'm sure he'll have their wholehearted support. And surely that's the ONLY reason he could make such a statement.
These "journalists"........sheez.....
Trump plays his Christian supporters and this latest BS about sex perverts proves it. Let’s see how Pastor Jeffries tries and justifies this garbage.
It’s only the difference between freedom of religion and not freedom of religion. Freedom of religion is freedom itself.
Freedom = the ability to do what is right.
There are no LGBT “people” anymore than there are “murderer” people or “thief” people. These are behaviors and destructive ones. Doing what is right vis a vis homosexuals is discouraging their destructive behavior toward themselves and others.
At his core Trump has been a social libertarian. While he finds common political ground with the morally decent, his history demonstrates that the common ground has limits. Before he entered politics, Trump was very pro choice. He was definitely not committed to monogamy and his sexual license hurt and offended women as well as other men ( such as the husbands and families of the women he pursued) is well documented. Homosexuals no doubt recognize a tolerant man regarding their practices. Doubt Trump would tolerate predatory actions against minors or be comfortable with his children being gay but he is not and has not shown deep philosophical or religious objection to homosexual behavior and culture.
Its important to recognize Trump for what he is, not what you project or hope him to be.
We are to envy them, strive to be more like them, to raise our children to follow their gospel.
During my years in the military, especially on remote duty, I knew of guys so horny they’d make love to a stump!
People are weird. I just don’t want to know about it.
Why these intimate desires a thing of the bedroom only and not a civil right is what confuses me.
So what if you like guys or whatever. It’s your business; not mine. Don’t share it with me!
LGBT is not the beach worth dying on.
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Tell that to Sodom and Gomorrah.
Trump supports human rights and equality before the law. The left simply can't abide that because they don't want equality before the law, they want to divide society into classes that can be endlessly pitted against each other to further the cause of "the revolution". That's why every group needs "special rights".
The article does an excellent job of explaining the nuance.
President Trump is not being disingenuous in the least. He has never pretended to deplore gay people. President Trump believes in individual freedom for gay people & for people whose religion does not believe homosexual behavior or gay marriage is godly. Donald Trump draws the line at the point when either party is being refused the right to behave as their conscience dictates or to love whom they choose. He is consistent.
That is the most honorable stance to take. No one should be forced to participate in promoting or celebrating that which is wrong in their eyes. On the same token people should be able to have same sex relationships and be able to commit to a relationship, share ownership, and health decisions.
The attitude of POTUS is that all people matter and all should be treated with respect & consideration: Republican, Democrat, Gay, Straight, White, Brown, Black, Asian, rich, poor, CEO, prisoner, Military and unemployed. That attitude is what is going to make America Greater than Ever. If Pastor Jefferies loves his neighbors he will understand, love the sinner not the sin. What Pastor or you feels is a sin does not and cannot make any person left out of our Nation’s or POTUS consideration & concern.
Ping.
Their health decisions are being paid for by the rest of us. $28 billion is tax dollars are spent per year for Aids research/treatment.
Yes but children get AIDS, healthcare workers get AIDES, heterosexuals get AIDES. Even though it started in the Gay community it is a disease that affects a far wider swath. Even if it didn’t affect all people, we spend money on diseases that only affect a small subgroup of people in many other cases.
People make lots of decisions that result in disease, smokers, drinkers, those that don’t maintain a healthy weight, or can’t. People drive too fast, drive drunk, don’t wear seat belts, leave kids home alone, take drugs, participate in extreme sports. Once you draw the line at one behavior that comes with health risks (Gay Sex) it is hypocritical not to examine other such behaviors.
I am glad that I live in a society where such finger pointing is kept to a minimum.
I do not agree with encouraging children to think gay relationships are just another choice for exactly that reason. That would mean facilitating a life choice that does expose them to many more health risks, not just AIDES.
However if at the age of consent and having been made of the dangers, that is their choice I would not ridicule, deride or stop caring for them. We all get to make the choices that seem right to us if we don’t injure others with our choices.
No sane person PROMOTES sexual perversion. This entire country is being taken over by radical homosexuals and it’s part of the Communist Manifesto. Little children are being exposed to this degenerate filth in public schools starting in kindergarten. It’s time to end the madness. I’ll be damned if I’ll be a part of GLORYING and PROMOTING sexual perversion. It’s insanity and you can bet your bottom dollar of Mike Pence was President he wouldn’t be promoting this crap. Trump has forgotten about the men and women that got him elected. He needs all the help he can get and he’s not getting it from any democrat so he needs to quit trying.
Should Christians be fined or sent off to jail for their beliefs? Pelosi’, democrats, and some Republicans say yes and have backed legislation to prove Christian beliefs should be shut-down.
There is popular legislation in Congress that pisses all over the Fisrt Amendment due in part to short-sighted ignoramuses like you who keep kicking the can and saying “This is not the hill to die on” or some milquetoast blabber like that.
Our hegemony is at a breaking point, you ignore these perverted clowns, not encourage and embolden them. If they intrude on your rights, “die on that hill” because all you are doing is promoting that behavior when attacked, just like the Equality legislation in Congress.
The Supreme Court is not a culturally “conservative court”, Thomas and Alito, that is it. Faggotry is trumping basic freedoms and you say “don’t die on this hill”.
Trump is a huge disappointment concerning this issue. Should of just stayed silent if anything.
What a gay load propaganda! If it wasn't for homosexual behavior, aides would be nothing more than a medical oddity.
So what if you like guys or whatever. It’s your business; not mine. Don’t share it with me!”””
AND-—DO NOT tell me I have to ACCEPT your behavior & endorse it.
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