McEnany: Trump was right to ignore LGBTQ people on World AIDS Day

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday defended Donald Trump’s decision, for the third time in his presidency, to omit any mention of LGBTQ people from his proclamation of World AIDS Day.

“I think that he commemorated the day as he should have,” McEnany told reporters after being asked about the action.

Trump made the same omission in 2019 — while promising to cure HIV by 2030. He also omitted references to LGBTQ people in 2017 and 2018.

By contrast, former President Barack Obama noted in his 2016 proclamation, “Gay and bisexual men, transgender people, youth, black and Latino Americans, people living in the Southern United States, and people who inject drugs are at a disproportionate risk.”

McEnany also falsely claimed that Trump had “honored World AIDS Day yesterday in a way that no president has before, with the red ribbon there” affixed to the front of the White House.

In fact, both of Trump’s predecessors had red ribbons hung in front of the White House. President George W. Bush was the first to put the ribbon up in 2007,  and he also put one up in Dec. 2008. Obama did it multiple times, including in Nov. 2009 and Dec. 2012.

Throughout his presidency, Trump has frequently attacked the LGBTQ community on a host of issues.

From a Dec. 2 White House press briefing:

REPORTER: Kayleigh, as demonstrated by the large red ribbon out there on the White House, yesterday was World AIDS Day. The president issued a proclamation yesterday, but consistent with his previous three proclamations, omitted any reference to LGBTQ people even though they bare the brunt of HIV/AIDS. The president included a reference to racial and ethnic minorities, so why not LGBTQ people?

 

KAYLEIGH McENANY: The president honored World AIDS Day yesterday in a way that no president has before, with the red ribbon there, and I think that he commemorated the day as he should have.

 

REPORTER: That doesn’t explain why there’s no reference to LGBTQ people in the proclamation.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.