Tiffany Trump says her dad can't be a bigot because her 'best friends are gay'

During an event in Tampa last weekend, Tiffany Trump defended her father’s terrible record on LGBTQ rights by saying her “best friends are gay.”

She made the comments while speaking at a “Trump Pride” event as part of the Trump campaign’s supposed LGBTQ outreach efforts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjKmOmrXvZM

The younger Trump said:

You see social media. You see these fabricated lies. It saddens me. I have friends of mine who reach and say, ‘How can they make up stories? How would you support your father? We know your best friends are gay. We know your best friends are this this and this.’ I say it’s because my father has always supported all of you.

She mostly rambled about herself and her father’s decision to run for president, while barely mentioning any substantive policy issues or naming any LGBTQ people who support her father.

In her speech, Trump claimed that “prior to politics,” her father “supported gays, lesbians, the LGBTQIA+ community, OK?”

She then stuck to vague remarks about love and equality.

“There should be love for all. One love. Openly love. Come on, we’re all people. We’re all humans, right?” Trump said.

She added, “It’s about love. It’s about equality. It’s about prosperity.”

Trump’s statements mirrored those of her half-sister, Ivanka Trump, who tweeted during Pride Month, “Less hate, more love!” The tweet made no specific reference to the LGBTQ community apart from rainbow-colored text and heart emoji.

Over the past four years, the Trump administration has relentlessly attacked LGBTQ rights. Among other actions, the Trump administration has:

• Rolled back protections for transgender students, patients, and homeless people;
• Instituted a transgender military ban;
• Removed references to LGBTQ people from government websites;
• Advanced rules that enable discrimination against LGBTQ people;
• Argued in court against LGBTQ rights; and
• Nominated Amy Coney Barrett, who has a long record of opposing LGBTQ rights, to the Supreme Court

The Trump campaign only announced its LGBTQ outreach efforts in late August. The Trump Pride section of Trump’s campaign website says that Trump “stands in solidarity with LGBT citizens by supporting and enacting policies and initiatives that protect the wellbeing and prosperity of all gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans.”

Tiffany Trump did not mention transgender people in her speech — a common occurrence for Trump Pride events. Rather than using her speech to bring attention to the challenges LGBTQ people face, she mostly talked about herself. At one point, she said that “educated young women” like herself are “silenced,” and complained about how hard it is to be the daughter of one of the least popular presidents in recent history.

Her remarks were typical for a Trump Pride event, where speakers rarely discuss issues that are important to the LGBTQ community — when they bother mentioning the LGBTQ community at all.

Earlier this month, the Trump campaign hosted a Trump Pride roundtable event in Phoenix. At the event, gay Trump supporters talked more about the “discrimination” they say they face as Trump supporters than the discrimination they face as gay people.

An invitation for a Trump Pride event in Pennsylvania last week made no mention of LGBTQ people. The event was headlined by Lara Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, as well as former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, who is gay. Grenell is the co-chair of Trump Pride, as well as the Republican National Committee’s senior adviser for LGBTQ outreach.

In her speech, Trump used Grenell — the first openly gay person to lead a cabinet-level department — as one of the few examples of her father’s record on LGBTQ rights. She also mentioned her father’s vow last year to end the AIDS epidemic within the next 10 years, while ignoring the fact that he has offered no details on how to achieve such a medical breakthrough.

Trump allies have continued to push inaccuracies and misleading claims about both Trump and Biden’s record on LGBTQ rights. A Log Cabin Republicans video released in August featured Grenell speaking to the camera about Trump. The video is a “stew of misleading timelines, out-of-context quotes and claims easily debunked,” according to the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to burden LGBTQ Americans with increased economic insecurity and health risks — a fact that no pretty speech will change.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.