President invites supporters to 'Trump Pride' rally with no mention of LGBTQ community
Pennsylvania event set to be headlined by Lara Trump and Richard Grenell
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Your support makes all the difference.President Donald Trump's campaign is holding a "Trump Pride" event in Newton Square, Pennsylvania. But mysteriously, the invitation does not mention the LGBTQ community at all.
SiriusXM host Michelangelo Signorile shared a screenshot of the event invitation on Twitter, calling it "closeted". He pointed out, "neither 'gay' nor 'LGBTQ' is mentioned, Trump himself is not involved, and the whole thing is in code: 'Pride' in rainbow letters".
Tuesday's free event was set to be headlined by the president's daughter-in-law Lara Trump, and his former acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell, who is openly gay. The invitation and RSVP page called it only a "Trump Pride" event, without specifically stating what that means or whether it is intended for LGBTQ supporters.
The president's campaign website claims that Mr Trump is "the only President to openly support the LGBT community since his first day in office", and that he has enacted "policies and initiatives that protect the wellbeing and prosperity of all gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans".
However, Mr Trump's record on LGBTQ rights has been less than stellar. According to GLAAD's Trump Accountability Project, the president's administration has made over 180 attacks on LGBTQ rights. Last year, Mr Trump announced his opposition to the Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
"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 Supreme Court nominee. Ms Barrett, who has been accused of posing a direct threat to marriage equality, would replace the late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was a longtime champion of LGBTQ rights.
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