That tweet from Donald Trump is from June 14th of 2016 -- when Trump was scrounging for every vote he could get during the presidential campaign. He said he would fight for the LGBT community, and would be better for them than Hillary Clinton would be.
To say that the tweet is a bit disingenuous would be kind. It is nothing short of an outrageous LIE! That became very clear yesterday when Trump tweeted that he would ban transgendered Americans from serving in the U.S. military (a reversal of government policy which allowed them to proudly serve). He tweeted:
This should come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. Almost immediately after being sworn in, Trump began to break his promise to the LGBT community to protect their rights. He has made it clear that his administration is NOT a friend to the LGBT community -- and that he is going to try to undo any of their advances that he can.
GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has kept track of all the things the Trump administration has done to hurt the LGBT community. Here is their list of anti-LGBT actions by the Trump administration:
-- 7.12.17 – President Trump grants a one-on-one interview with Pat Robertson, a longtime anti-LGBTQ activist and Televangelist. -- 7.10.17 – In a closed-door and unannounced opportunity, President Trump poses for a photograph with notorious anti-LGBTQ activists who wish to promote so-called “religious exemptions” that would harm LGBTQ Americans across the nation. -- 6.29.17 - Reports revealed President Trump hired anti-transgender activist, Bethany Kozma, to the Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Rights at the US Agency for International Development.
-- 6.28.17 - The Department of Justice ejected reporters covering a DOJ Pride event hosted by LGBTQ affinity groups for federal workers. -- 6.27.17 - The Trump Administration failed to mention the LGBTQ community in their National HIV Testing Day statement. -- 6.21.17 - Reporting reveals President Trump hired a lawyer who openly supported Russian President Vladimir Putin's anti-LGBTQ law banning so-called "gay propaganda" from Russia, a law that Europe’s top human rights court found to be illegal. -- 6.17.17 - Six members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS resigned saying that President Trump "simply does not care" about combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
-- 6.16.17 - An obtained internal memo from the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights reveals guidelines to dismiss complaints about bathroom access filed by transgender students.
-- 6.15.17 - Department of Commerce removes sexual orientation and gender identity from the agency's Equal Employment Policy; LGBTQ protections have been explicitly included since 2010. Only after fierce opposition did Department of Commerce Secretary Ross change it back. -- 6.15.17 - The Department of Education invites Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, two anti-LGBTQ organizations, to be speakers for a day-long conference on engaging fathers in their children’s education and welfare.
-- 6.15.17 - The Department of Education rolls back the Office for Civil Rights' expansive approach to investigating civil rights complaints that to protect LGBTQ students, and other marginalized communities, from discrimination at school. -- 6.1.17 - President Trump declines to issue a presidential proclamation designating June as LGBTQ Pride Month, breaking with an eight-year precedent set by President Barack Obama to honor and support LGBTQ Americans during Pride Month. -- 5.23.17 - The Trump Administration reveals their budget which includes proposed slashes to programs and departments critical to the LGBTQ community, including Medicaid, Planned Parenthood, and the Center for Disease Control’s HIV and AIDS programs.
-- 5.22.17 - The Trump Administration grants White House press credentials to a "reporter" from Infowars, a conspiracy outlet that regularly peddles dangerous, offensive and anti-LGBTQ content. -- 5.8.17 - Department of Agriculture issues new so-called "religious freedom" policy statement, a move praised by the anti-LGBTQ Family Research Council. -- 5.4.17 - President Trump signs a "religious liberty" executive order. Although this EO does not target LGBTQ Americans, it is the first step in what could be a more broader permission slip for discrimination against the overall LGBTQ community. -- 4.14.17 - The Trump Administration files to dismiss a lawsuit accusing North Carolina of discriminating against the LGBTQ community in response to HB2, despite the similarities of the HB142 replacement. -- 4.10.17: A ProPublica investigation reveals the Trump Administration appointed James Renne, a key staffer involved in the Bush-era anti-LGBTQ purge of gay government employees, to a senior role at the Department of Agriculture. -- 3.28.17: The Trump Administration cancels plans to add the LGBTQ community to its upcoming 2020 U.S. Census, a survey conducted every decade by the federal government to help collect data about living Americans and the United States of America. -- 3.28.17: Under his proposed budget for the U.S. Congress, The Trump Administration offered to cut HIV and AIDS research funding under the National Institutes of Health (NIH). -- 3.24.17: President Trump appointed anti-LGBTQ activist and former Heritage Foundation employee Roger Severino to lead the Health and Human Services Civil Rights Office, putting the LGBTQ community at risk of losing access to critical and affordable health care. -- 3.20.17: Trump Administration erases the LGBTQ community from The National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants and the Annual Program Performance Report for Centers for Independent Living, key surveys that are used to help provide care to American seniors – including disability, transportation, and caregiver support needs. -- 2.22.17 - With help of Attorney General Sessions, President Trump rescinded Title IX protections for transgender students in our nation's schools. -- 2.02.17: ABC News reports that after previously committing to protecting LGBTQ Americans from discrimination, President Trump and his administration had drafted a "License to Discriminate" executive order which would usher in across-the-board discrimination against the LGBTQ community. -- 1.27.17: President Donald Trump issued an executive order to indefinitely ban Syrian refugees from entering the United States. This ban includes LGBTQ refugees fleeing the nation in fear of discrimination. -- 1.20.17: Minutes after Donald Trump was sworn into office, any mention of the LGBTQ community were erased from White House, Department of State, and Department of Labor websites.
