At this point, the reasons to hate Donald Trump are too numerous to count, but allow us to add at least one more: notorious leader of the antigay Family Research Group Tony Perkins is helping him write his speeches.
Allow that to sink in for a moment.
In an interview with out CNN anchor Don Lemon, Trump clarified the “Two Corinthians” gaffe at his Liberty University speech earlier this week, dropped the bombshell that Perkins helped him write it, and then added insult to injury by describing him as “a very, very good guy.”
Yes, you read that correctly.
The guy who basically blamed the Boston Marathon bombing on gays and delights in telling antigay jokes is apparently A-OK in Trump’s book. Not that you were ever planning on voting for him, anyway. Though LGBT people have thus far managed to escape the severity of his attacks on Islam and immigrants, his record on LGBT rights is sketchy to say the least.
Getting in bed with a known homophobe like Perkins signals that he’s willing to pander to the far right in every way in order to get the nomination, so we’re sure that anti-LGBT rhetoric is next up on that agenda.
Watch Lemon chat with Trump below, and join us in shedding a tear for the American political process.
https://youtu.be/jrAq6NspB9U
Baba Booey Fafa Fooey
At first, I thought Trump was just perfoming a schtick ala Sasha Baron Cohen. But, now, I don’t know. Cyndi Lauper does a lot for homeless LGBT youth and I know Trump donated a large amount to her charity. I feel bad for celebrities like Lauper, who is good friends with Trump, but is doing a lot of deplorable things. I mean, after this is over, how can you still associate with this man? There must be nice, long emails or conversations explaining all of this.
Kieran
Queerty. Free of an Agenda. Ha ha.
Brian
Trump will be the next President unless the Democrats get their house in order and nominate somebody other than Hillary or Sanders. The Democrats are not offering much of a choice, partly due to the fact that they are soft on illegal immigration.
Mack
@Baba Booey Fafa Fooey: I pretty much thought the same thing. He’s really coming off to the extreme that it seems like it’ll be a joke at the end. If he hates that much then he’s really a despicable person. I can honestly say I have never watched any of his show because I just get this feeling from him as being a total jackass.
Mack
@Brian: I disagree. I think the Democrats are offering a big choice. Face it, a politician doesn’t have to promote hate to be a viable candidate. I don’t see a problem with their immigration problem and in most cases it’s not going to be the President that decides, it going to be Congress with a viable solution. The President can only “suggest” what they want, it Congress who will make the law and if they agree the President will sign. The solution comes when the Congress and the President works together and that’s why electing a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President is so important.
Desert Boy
Has Trump actually taken a position on LGBT rights yet? I know he was asked about his views on marriage equality and he said he’s attended gay weddings of employees but that isn’t what I’d call a policy position.
joeyty
Queerty tries to link up Trump with Tony Perkins, and Signorile tries to link Trump with Sarah Palin. Obviously they despise him, but it’s still not clear to me why, as a gay man, it’s required that I hate Donald Trump.
joeyty
@Baba Booey Fafa Fooey: I didn’t know he’d given a lot to Cyndi Lauper’s charity. Good for him. I can see why they’d be friends : both very blunt, and both born in Queens.
Kangol
@Kieran: Once again you are going after Queerty when it’s posting about Donald Trump. So I am going to ask a question, and not in a nasty or snarky way.
Why would you support a homophobe, or someone who would have a virulent homophobe like Tony Perkins co-writing his speeches? Is it because you support his other policies, and believe that although he is seeking support from homophobes that he won’t be one if elected? Do none of his r@cist or misogynistic statements and actions bother you? (If not, it is what it is.)
I’m asking because I’m trying to understand what would motivate someone who is gay to support someone who is anti-gay in his or her public policy (whatever that person’s private feelings are about gay people)?
George W. Bush has gay friends, but he actively supported anti-gay legislation, which helped to churn up homophobia and state-level anti-gay laws, which have harmed the lives of countless gay people. This isn’t my conjecture, it’s a fact. Private beliefs are fine, but when they harm the lives of others on a public scale, they’re an problem.
So I ask, not in a spirit of contentiousness, but because I want to understand why you would support someone who is so closely linked to homophobes that he would let an extremely high-profile one write his speeches.
teenhappy22
uhhm
1EqualityUSA
It’s like Trump doesn’t want to be President. Next he’ll choose Sarah Palin to be his running mate. I think he doesn’t want the responsibility and the lack of down time or privacy would be miserable.
joeyty
Politicians use all kinds of people. Obama had that whole connection with the homophobic Rev. Rick Warren, but Obama turned out pretty gay-friendly.
1EqualityUSA
Obama didn’t go on talk shows beefing about needing more Scalias and Thomases. He huffed and puffed about needing conservatives on the bench….. (for lifetime appointments.)
Dwight
No doubt Tony Perkins sees Trump as very pro-family since Trump is on his third one.
Quantity, not quality.
Hun
Trump is a very, very good guy.
joeyty
@Hun: “Good” is a pretty broad term. Most people seem to be a mixed bag rather than just “good” or “bad.” I do think Trump might be the best bet for the overall good for this next presidency, though.
Sam Oropeza
1EqualityUSA
Trump in his Middle East 101 classes….He’ll delegate this out to “the experts.” Scary, in a wolfowitzian kind of way.
Trump is a pilot with hands that shake. The cardiac lip, blanched and cortisol-ed, the muscles in his face, the off the cuff remarks shows attributes of one who is out of control.
Hillary already knows the players. The “think tank” has been held accountable. Madeleine Albright comes to mind. Middle of the road, building on Obama’s momentum, not a Bernie Sanders type “revolution.” Less romantic, resilience. I don’t want a revolution right now. Thanks. Let’s just get to work and kick ass. Look at Shinola, in Detroit. American made. It’s becoming the next it girl on it’s own, without benefit of politics. Less romantic, confidence and experience. I don’t want a revolution.
Sean Hansen
AndYouWillDeal
It’s so pathetic that the gay community is so near sighted, focusing on special interests instead of the common good of the country and who would actually help fix the biggest issues facing our nation.