Conservative, LGBTQ organization Log Cabin Republicans celebrated Presidents Day yesterday by releasing a video of several supporters thanking Donald Trump.
The video comes from its ‘Outspoken’ project, which was launched last year in an attempt to help Trump become re-elected.
This President’s Day, LGBTs say ‘Thank you!’ to President Donald J. Trump. pic.twitter.com/PavXuT82VV
— LogCabinRepublicans (@LogCabinGOP) February 15, 2021
Fresh from being acquitted of encouraging insurrection in the Capitol last month during his history-making second impeachment, Trump received praise for, among other things, “giving a voice to Americans that felt overlooked”, “exposing how incredibly corrupt the media is,” and for showing that sometimes “an outsider is the best person for the job.”
Related: Richard Grenell demands White House press secretary “apologize to the gay community”
Between 2017-2021, advocacy group GLAAD keeping a running count of all the Trump administration’s attacks on LGBTQ people. It totaled 181 by the time Trump left office, including his ban on trans people serving in the military and a move to allow federal employers to discriminate against LGBTQ just days before his departure from the White House.
However, the MAGA-loving supporters here wanted to thank him for being “the first President in history to enter office as a supporter of marriage equality” and “the first pro-gay President when entering office.”
One contributor said he was “eternally grateful” to Trump for the way in which he had opened “the tent of the Republican party [to] accept LGBT Americans.”
Trump is also lauded for launching a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality. Although this initiative was indeed announced in 2019, whether it achieved any tangible results is moot. Claiming, as is done here, that Trump, “set precedent for Joe Biden and the Biden administration to follow … picking up where Donald Trump left off,” is perhaps a stretch.
Related: Richard Grenell celebrates Veteran’s Day by thanking a war criminal. Really.
The video received a largely bemused reaction online, with many thinking at first that it may have been a parody or asking if April Fools Day had arrived early.
NOT ENOUGH EYE ROLLS pic.twitter.com/UNaf5BCq1c
— Rowena Del Xena (@ohzerout) February 15, 2021
“He’s opened the tent to LGBTQ Americans” ????
Trump opened the tent to the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, White supremacists, Three Percenters, KKK, Neo-nazis and all far right neo-fascist militias.Good luck surviving in that tent of hatred towards you 👍🏻
— 🐝Debbie O’Donnell (@homesickdebs) February 15, 2021
The video was praised by some Trump supporters. The former US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, was among those to retweet it.