Trump selling 'pride' swag despite refusing to recognize Pride Month

Donald Trump’s campaign site is selling a “Make America Great Again Pride Tee” shirt. The shirt can be yours for $25, plus tax and shipping, to “Show your support for the LGBT community and the 45th President.”

The Trump-Pence store is selling at least three other rainbow “pride” branded items, including a $35 “Make America Great Again” hat and two $30 Trump “pride” tees.

But for the past four years, Trump has refused to issue a Pride Month declaration, nor has he shown support for the LGBTQ community or pride.

[media-credit name=”Trump Pride 2020 Ringer Tee ($30)” align=”alignnone” width=”200″][/media-credit]

June 2020 marked the fourth straight year that Trump offered no official statement honoring LGBTQ Pride Month. He did, however, proclaim the month “Great Outdoors Month,” “National Ocean Month,” “National Caribbean-American Heritage Month,” African-American Music Appreciation Month,” and “National Homeownership Month.”

His only recognition of Pride came last year, in the form of a tweet that mostly focused on countries that imprison or execute LGBTQ people.

“As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation,” Trump wrote then.

But Trump’s time in office has been marked by a long series of anti-LGBTQ actions.

Last week, his administration was on the losing side of a historic Supreme Court ruling against anti-LGBTQ job discrimination.

In May 2019, Trump opposed the Equality Act, which would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

And through a series of executive actions, the administration reversed Obama-era guidance protecting transgender student’s rights in schools, moved to ban transgender people from military service, attempted to enable discrimination against transgender people in homeless shelters, and acted to remove Obamacare regulations that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in health care.

Trump’s 2020 opponent Joe Biden, who has been endorsed by major LGBTQ rights groups, is also selling pride swag on his campaign site.

Unlike Trump, Biden’s site also states that he “believes that every human being should be treated with respect and dignity and be able to live without fear no matter who they are or who they love.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.