Trump ignores Pride Month in favor of broader pitch to LGBTQ voters

Biden campaign marked Pride Month with a blitz of ads, interviews and engagements with local LGBTQ groups and prominent figures to try to motivate voters before November.

Former President Trump’s campaign is taking a decidedly different approach.

Trump’s campaign did nothing specific to mark Pride Month, a move reminiscent of Trump’s several years in the White House when did not issue a proclamation recognizing the month of celebration for the LGBTQ community.

Instead, Trump and his allies are arguing that his policies on the economy and at the border will benefit LGBTQ Americans, just as they would benefit other communities, even as the former president attacks transgender athletes and promises to roll back protections for transgender students enacted by the administration. Biden.

“By reducing inflation and the skyrocketing cost of living, cutting taxes, and restoring law and order to our communities, President Trump’s second term agenda will create a safer, more prosperous America for ALL Americans, regardless of gender. , sexual orientation, race, religion or creed!” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

Republicans and Trump campaign officials have said outreach to LGBTQ voters will be decentralized, moving away from a focus on Pride Month and instead relying on coalition groups to advocate over several months that voters of all backgrounds, genders and sexual orientations were in better shape under the Trump administration than under the Biden administration.

The Independent Center, a centrist think tank, interviewed 600 Americans earlier this year who identify as LGBTQ. The poll found that 56 percent of respondents said they would definitely vote for President Biden or lean toward Biden, compared to 28 percent who said they would definitely support or lean toward Trump. Sixteen percent of respondents were undecided.

The survey also revealed that 24 percent of respondents stated that “jobs and the economy” were the most pressing issues for the country, making them the first choice among respondents.

“The economy and the malaise that Joe Biden and the Democrats have brought is hurting gay families just as much as Latino families, Asian families, everyone else in this country,” said Charles Moran, president of the LGBTQ group Log Cabin. Republicans. “So we don’t need to have this portfolio of policies that we have to present to these different communities. Under Donald Trump, his life was better and it didn’t matter what the color of his skin, his gender or his sexual identity was.

Former first lady Melania Trump attended an April fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago for Log Cabin Republicans, who endorsed Trump in 2020. Money raised at that event is expected to help fund outreach efforts group’s electoral campaign in the coming months for the Trump campaign and Republicans voted down.

But despite the disclosure, Trump also promised policies that would seriously harm members of the LGBTQ community.

These include enacting at least a dozen policies that target transgender rights if he is reelected, including a national ban on transgender student-athletes competing according to their gender identity and a federal law that recognizes only two genders.

He also promised to punish health care providers who administer gender-affirming medical care to minors and roll back new protections for transgender students “on day one” of his presidency.

Trump, as president, banned transgender individuals from serving openly in the military, gutted Obama-era anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people, and rejected requests from U.S. embassies to fly rainbow flags during Pride Month.

Still, Trump’s allies argue that the former president has ushered in a new era in the Republican Party, one where LGBTQ Americans are more welcome in the Republican Party.

Officials noted that his administration included several openly gay officials, including Richard Grenell as acting director of National Intelligence. They also cited Trump’s comments upon winning in 2016 that he considered the gay marriage issue resolved.

“He has a history of being a philanthropist, a businessman and then a politician, and all of those things have been congruent around his inclusion of LGBT people,” Moran said.

LGBTQ voters may not make up a large part of the national electorate, but in what is expected to be a tight election in November, their votes could help tip the scales for a campaign.

Leave the vote After the 2020 election, 7% of voters identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Sixty-four percent of these voters supported Biden, compared to 27 percent who voted for Trump.

Biden, who frequently calls himself and his administration the most pro-LGBTQ in history, during his first term expanded federal non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people and condemned violence and threats made against the community. In 2022, Biden signed legislation safeguarding marriage equality.

Biden also spoke out against state laws targeting transgender youth and against Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which restricts some discussions in state schools about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Biden’s campaign in April released for Biden-Harris, a national initiative aimed at mobilizing LGBTQ voters. First Lady Jill Biden marked the start of Pride Month by attending the Pittsburgh Pride festival. The campaign is expected to be present at more than 200 Pride events throughout the month, delivering the message that the choice in November is clear.

“This Pride is an important time to remember the progress we have made for our community under President Biden and what is at stake in this election for LGBTQ+ Americans as Trump proudly rushes to disenfranchise us,” the spokesperson said. from Biden campaign Kevin Munoz in a statement.

“To threaten [in vitro fertilization] treatments to attack LGBTQ+ marriages, Trump’s Project 2025 agenda would destroy our rights and sow unnecessary hate and division for Trump’s political gain,” he added.