{"id":79387,"date":"2019-02-21T14:25:49","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T19:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/trump-on-reports-hes-not-as-anti-lgbtq-as-thought-i-dont-know-which-reports-youre-talking-about\/"},"modified":"2019-02-21T14:25:49","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T19:25:49","slug":"trump-on-reports-hes-not-as-anti-lgbtq-as-thought-i-dont-know-which-reports-youre-talking-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/trump-on-reports-hes-not-as-anti-lgbtq-as-thought-i-dont-know-which-reports-youre-talking-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump on reports he\u2019s not as anti-LGBTQ as thought: \u2018I don\u2019t know which reports you\u2019re talking about\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trump on reports he\u2019s not as anti-LGBTQ as thought: \u2018I don\u2019t know which reports you\u2019re talking about\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

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Richard Grenell<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Just days\u00a0after the president half-heartedly teased<\/a> a supposed plan to eradicate HIV over the next decade, this week came\u00a0the news of a\u00a0plan\u00a0to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Once again, the words sounded good on the surface – especially on the global conversation. Criminal sanctions against homosexuality are still an all-too-present reality around the globe, and ending this nightmarish truth should be a decidedly\u00a0nonpartisan effort.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But sadly, just as the HIV eradication plan seemed to put recruitment of applause at the State of the Union\u00a0before a clear and workable roadmap, the Trump Administration\u2019s reported plan to eliminate punishments against homosexuality seem to be another instance\u00a0of a reasonable goal without a team capable of advancing it.<\/p>\n

\"\"First came the news report<\/a>: Richard Grenell, the out gay<\/a> man<\/a> who serves as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany (and who is a rumored candidate for\u00a0open U.S. Ambassador for the\u00a0United Nations\u00a0role), is to work with European activists to coordinate a plan to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe. The narrowly focused\u00a0campaign, reportedly sparked by the\u00a0execution of a gay<\/a> man<\/a> in Iran, is to involve U.S. Embassies across Europe, as well as the State Department here at home. Again, all makes sense on the surface.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s stop here and\u00a0talk about\u00a0the aforementioned State Department. Even though one would think that department would want to build on the goodwill news reports and provide more details, the department spokesperson met the news of the day by completely and utterly downplaying it as status quo. Check out this exchange that Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino had with a reporter on the very day the news broke:\u00a0<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0LGBT issues.<\/p>\n

MR PALLADINO:\u00a0LGBT issues.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0Yeah. Apparently there\u2019s this new push by the State Department to try to get other countries to decriminalize homosexuality. Can you talk about where that is right now and what exactly is this initiative?<\/p>\n

MR PALLADINO:\u00a0I believe you\u2019re referring to a strategy meeting that MSNBC was reporting on out of Germany, and that was in advance of a strategy meeting that Ambassador Grenell and his staff at Embassy Berlin had today with 11 activists from different countries in Europe. It\u2019s \u2013 this really is not a big policy departure. This is longstanding and it\u2019s bipartisan.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0So this \u2013 would you characterize this as some new initiative or something, or is it just a continuation or an intensification of efforts that the State Department does?MR PALLADINO:\u00a0I would say that this is a good opportunity to listen and to discuss ideas about how the United States can advance decriminalization of homosexuality around the world, and that\u2019s been our policy.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:\u00a0Okay, thanks.<\/p>\n

[State.Gov<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Okay, so he\u2019s right about this not really being news. Secretary Hillary Clinton famously used her time at the helm of the State Department to declare<\/a> that \u201c[LGBTQ] rights are human rights.\u201d The Obama Administration was clear on these goals. And yes, there is a degree\u00a0of bipartisan support for this\u00a0common sense idea.<\/p>\n

And Palladino is also right that the Trump State Department has done absolutely nothing to intensify this push. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has an intensely anti-LGBTQ record<\/a> himself, has not made any priority toward furthering the welfare of LGBTQ people. Predecessor Rex\u00a0Tillerson, despite being viewed as somewhat personally supportive of LGBTQ rights, also never made any waves in this regard. Instead, the administration has turned a blind eye to very real LGBTQ rights abuses in places like Chechnya, despite the outcry<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0activists. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

But even stranger than the downplaying\u00a0is how complacent the spokesperson seems when fielding the question. Considering this was big news of the day that had direct concerns and implications for his department, one would think this would have been front and center on his mind when heading into that day\u2019s press briefing. Yet it doesn\u2019t seem to have been on his mind at all. He seems caught off guard by the question.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to the President himself. On Wednesday afternoon, just a day after this news broke and conservatives began trumpeting it<\/a> as \u201cproof\u201d that this anti-LGBTQ administration isn\u2019t really anti-LGBTQ, a reporter asked the Commander in Chief to speak to this supposed priority. This is how that exchange played out:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Q \u00a0 \u00a0Mr. President, on your push to decriminalize homosexuality, are you doing that? \u00a0And why?<\/p>\n

PRESIDENT TRUMP: \u00a0Say it?<\/p>\n

Q \u00a0 \u00a0Your push to decriminalize homosexuality around the world.<\/p>\n

PRESIDENT TRUMP: \u00a0I don\u2019t know which report you\u2019re talking about. \u00a0We have many reports.<\/p>\n

Anybody else?<\/p>\n

[WhiteHouse.Gov<\/a>.]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t know which report you\u2019re talking about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Honestly, do these folks talk to each other?<\/p>\n

If the State Dept. spokesperson was dismissive, then the President is simply clueless. Stunningly, stupefyingly clueless. Not only does he not have the capacity or desire to speak to the matter, but he doesn\u2019t even\u00a0know<\/em> what the reporter is asking. This is news that was reported in multiple mainstream outlets, yet the President of the United States doesn\u2019t seem to have even the slightest knowledge of it.<\/p>\n

If he himself isn\u2019t intellectually curious enough to discover it on his own, you\u2019d at least think his advisors would want\u00a0the President to be in front of it so that he could\u00a0take a victory lap here. Since the high profile reports pointed to something with broad support, we\u2019d expect the President to use this as an opportunity to appeal to more mainstream voters. His own son has been using it as \u201cproof\u201d<\/a> that his father\u2019s\u00a0not anti-LGBTQ.\u00a0It\u2019s an easy lift, since there is nothing for anyone\u00a0to really prove at this early point. The President could have just used this as a free pass to enjoy some of the most favorable press he has received in a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But he doesn\u2019t even know about it. Let me repeat that slowly: He. Doesn\u2019t. Even. Know<\/em>. About. It.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s offensive enough to be told\u00a0that this administration, which continually caters to our most extreme opponents<\/a> and that continues to fight against LGBTQ rights in all branches of government, is supposedly now concerned about LGBTQ welfare.\u00a0But to have this unearned praise met with such stunning lack of concern by the administration? That is just beyond. It\u2019s like he can\u2019t even be bothered to care.<\/p>\n

Which, of course, is just another reason why LGBTQ Americans must continue to care about this, an administration that is so\u00a0aggressive in fights\u00a0against us\u2014yet so dismissive in fights to protect us.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Jeremy Hooper is a writer, activist, and father in New York, NY.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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February 21, 2019<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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