Joe Biden tapped Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary yesterday. If confirmed, Mayor Pete will become the first openly gay person ever to serve as a member of the presidential Cabinet.
Within minutes of the announcement, Trump supporters were calling Buttigieg’s historic nomination #fakenews. They argued that Richard Grennell was actually the first openly gay person to serve as a member of the presidential Cabinet when he was appointed Acting Director of National Intelligence by Donald Trump earlier this year.
While Trump & Co. love making this claim, there’s always been a caveat that they’ve ignored. Because while Grenell was, indeed, appointed to Trump’s cabinet, he only served in an interim capacity for three months, and he never had a formal Senate hearing because Trump had him jettisoned out the minute it became clear he’d never get confirmed.
According to TIME:
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Acting officials typically don’t have the stature to implement new programs or regulations that would have significant effect, and lack the access to the networks that would get them help from the White House and other agencies.
Basically, acting officials like Grennell keep the departments they’ve been assigned to oversee running in the most basic capacity and aren’t authorized to give any major directives or make any sweeping changes. Sorta like when your co-worker goes on vacation and you fill in for them for a week or, in Grennell’s case, 12 weeks.
Of course, Trump supporters have never been great at paying close attention to details or believing, you know, facts, so they’re pissed that media outlets are reporting Buttigieg is set to become the first openly LGBTQ cabinet official in history.
Here’s what they’re saying…
Pete Buttigieg will NOT be the first openly gay cabinet official in American history.
That was @RichardGrenell appointed by @realdonaldtrump
Leftists and Democrats: We WILL NOT allow you to rewrite history. Trump and Ric already made it.
STOP LYING. pic.twitter.com/TsasyZvSYn
— Rob Smith ?? (@robsmithonline) December 16, 2020
Who is @RichardGrenell? Oh, right – he’s a Republican and therefore doesn’t count. Got it.
— Ruth Peterson (@RuthAPeterson) December 15, 2020
What about @RichardGrenell ? He was confirmed. Worst “investigative journalist” ever.
— Jencie (@Jencie31) December 15, 2020
Nah the first openly LGBTQ Cabinet-level member is @RichardGrenell
— 安東英泰🥐🌸🌏《chronically tardy & medically annoying》 (@HidehiroAnto) December 16, 2020
I am calling on @PeteButtigieg to step up and correct this intentionally misleading information that is erasing the legacy of @RichardGrenell who made LGBT history and fought to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide.
This is beyond politics.
Do the right thing.
Speak up! pic.twitter.com/ISmzux9GiF— Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) December 16, 2020
More fake news from the king of fake news. Have you ever heard of Ric Grenell?
— Bradley Scott 🙏🇺🇸 (@Hoosiers1986) December 15, 2020
Why are so many people saying Pete Buttigieg would be the first gay cabinet member? Wasn’t Richard Grenell the first?
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) December 15, 2020
.@RichardGrenell I owe you an apology.
Yesterday on my show ‘Making Money’ I reported Pete Buttigieg would be the first openly gay person to serve in a WH cabinet.
Richard Grenell has that distinction when he became acting DNI in the Trump cabinet and he did a hell of a job.
— Charles V Payne (@cvpayne) December 16, 2020
@RichardGrenell isn’t gay? I know he was confirmed.
— Trust Nothing (@DelawareSold) December 15, 2020
The mainstream media is rewriting history at a George Orwell 1984 level when they continue to repeat that @PeteButtigieg will be the first LGBTQ Cabinet member – totally ignoring @RichardGrenell who served as Acting DNI under Trump.
— Blair Brandt (@BlairBrandt) December 15, 2020
Related: Pete Buttigieg will join Biden’s Cabinet as transportation secretary
TomG
Someday, probably not in my lifetime, Trump supporters will actually get some education. The have already been PROVEN to be the least educated our country has to offer, so it is no wonder they always complain. They cannot get ahead in this world without education, but they chose to disregard getting one.
Mack
Don’t count on it, they like being that stupid.
EricRaul
yaaas queen! slay sis! sooo true that many trump supporters don’t have college degrees, so why would they vote for candidates that want them to pay for everyone else’s student loans in lesbian gender studies and policies that enable democrat welfare leeches
Roy Ajax
TomG
How has it been proven? I’d like to look it up.
Cam
@EricRaul and @Roy Ajax
If you’re going to switch screenames trolling to defend right wingers, you may want to space out your comments so it isn’t so obvious to everybody.
Fahd
Yawn.
succubus
an apt response to this and almost all other silly and sissified articles thrown out on this rag
Cam
@succubus
Oooo, you switched to a 3rd screename so you could complain about something being “sissified”. We get it precious, right wingers hate all things LGBTQ
Creamsicle
There are plenty of highly educated people who also don’t get ahead in the world. Luck and nepotism, has more to do with success than a lot of people are willing to admit.
anybody from anywhere
OK. The constitution clearly outlines the requirements and procedures for creating a cabinet officer. The Director of National Intelligence does not meets meet those requirements and is, therefore, not a member of the United States Cabinet. It is only a cabinet level position and not an actual member. There are only 15 members of the the cabinet: State, Treasury, Defense, AG, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, HUD, HHS, Energy, Transportation, Education, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security. That’s it. So, it does not matter how long Mr. Grenell served, or if he was or wasn’t officially nominated or confirmed. He was only ‘of cabinet rank’ and not a cabinet officer, and he most certainly wasn’t in the presidential line of succession. The lack of understanding of our government and how it functions is appalling. I guess that’s what we get for allowing the education system to be stripped for parts.
Kangol2
You are citing facts, based on the actual US Constitution, so the GOP crowd isn’t going to listen to you.
Essie
Oh, please. Do you really think the Dumpster’s fans are going to read ALL of that? Most of them, like their god, have never read a book and what you wrote qualifies to them as a book, so . . . .
Jake123
I just find American politics so strange. During the primary Biden released an add claiming Pete was useless and implying he was a racist. Now he’s on his cabinet. Kamala painted Biden as a racist and a predator and now she’s his Vp. I’m not American I was just interested in this election due to the obvious impact it would have for the world. Is this usually what elections are like ?
WashDrySpin
Honey it is all smoke and mirrors…they are not enemies on the campaign trial…it makes for good headlines and talking points
Roy Ajax
It’s very cut-throat and these politicians rely on people’s short memories. Back room deals are made to drop out in exchange for a position on the cabinet and a shot at the presidency at another time. The current theory around Kamala is that Biden will bow out mid-way through his presidency and she will then become President. The democrats use identity politcs a lot as well… they courted BLM and Antifa to get their support and now have cut both of those organizations off. But this is the party of togetherness…
WSnyder
Are US Politics really that strange? The US fought the British during the War for Independence and then again in the War of 1812. The British allied themselves with the Confederacy during the American Civil War, an enemy of the United States. Yet we fought with the British AND the Soviet Union against Hitler’s Germany and within a decade were allied with Germany against the Soviet Union until that collapsed. Great Britain and Germany allied to form the European Union and now they can’t agree on trade while Britain wants out of the EU.
I guess it’s just like you can have a disagreement with the neighbor on who should pay for the fence repair until you both join up to complain about the neighbor who runs a crack house across the street. Politics is always about who you get in bed with when you have a common enemy.
Liquid Silver
Politicians assume you’re so stupid they can’t remember what they said four hours ago. This is generally true. In this case, Kamala and Pete! and Uncle Joe were at each other’s throats and pretended to hate each other just a year ago.
In a few months, they’ll be sharing out the bribes just like any other set of politicians ever did and ever will.
(If you’re detecting I have no respect for politicians, I think they should be paid in good food, decent health care, and 24 hour surveillance of their actions and bank accounts. The 98% of dishonest grifters really give the 2% honest ones a bad name).
Cam
@Jake123
Except you’re lying, and you’ve tried this “Gee I’m so confused, I’m not American but…….” before trying to invent some bit of minutia that didn’t happen.
Let me ask…..if you aren’t American and are confused by American politics. by all means, explain how you saw this made up Biden ad. Ads weren’t run overseas. So if you saw any ad, that would seem to indicate you were living here.
Please, PLEASE send smarter trolls!
barryaksarben
Boy these republicans are such snowflakes and Mr Grennell the self hating pos was NOT A CABINET MEMBER only cabinet level. Besides Pete is out and proud not a self hating evil pos. AN old boyfriend has let us know that grennel cries after coming because he is so upset he is only turned on by guys.
Roy Ajax
Absolute lies about being self-hating. He’s open, in a 16 year relationship, and the Pink News, in 2019, wrote a story about him wanting to decriminalize homosexuality globally. That does not sound like someone who hates himself.
Cam
@Roy Ajax
No, like all Republicans he loves himself, he’s just happy to harm everybody else like him to advance his own career.
cuteguy
Any lgtbq members that supported trump in any way or capacity should be erased from our history
Josh447
The last 4 years would be best erased from history.
JRinDallas
“Trump supporters are pissed”? This is news? Tell me, when AREN’T Trump supporters pissed about everything? Biggest bunch of whiny little bitches in history. Trump has stoked their resentment of THE OTHER (i.e., anyone non-white and/or an immigrant), and now they see conspiracies at every turn. Carrie Fisher had a great definition of resentment: It’s like taking poison and then waiting for the other person to die. It’ll catch up with them someday, and the sooner the better.
Harriman
roy/ richard, again, please skip away.
dougie
Several comments already point out to the trumpster snowflakes that there’s a difference between a position (Grennell) and a cabinet-level position (Buttigieg). There’s also a huge difference between a self-hating homosexual (Grennell) and an affirming, self-respect gay man (Buttigieg).
AxelDC
Grennell wasn’t a cabinet secretary. He was also only acting.