Trump once opened the door to the LGBTQ+ community. Now activists say
he's their top threat
[June 07, 2025]
By CHRIS MEGERIAN and JILL COLVIN
WASHINGTON (AP) — When he first ran for office, Donald Trump appeared to
be a new kind of Republican when it came to gay rights.
Years earlier, he overturned the rules of his own Miss Universe pageant
to allow a transgender contestant to compete. He said Caitlyn Jenner
could use any bathroom at Trump Tower that she wanted. And he was the
first president to name an openly gay person to a Cabinet-level
position.
But since returning to office this year, Trump has engaged in what
activists say is an unprecedented assault on the LGBTQ+ community. The
threat from the White House contrasts with World Pride celebrations
taking place just blocks away in Washington, including a parade and
rally this weekend.
“We are in the darkest period right now since the height of the AIDS
crisis,” said Kevin Jennings, who leads Lambda Legal, a longtime
advocacy organization. “I am deeply concerned that we’re going to see it
all be taken away in the next four years.”
Trump's defenders insist the president has not acted in a discriminatory
way, and they point to public polling that shows widespread support for
policies like restrictions on transgender athletes.
“He’s working to establish common sense once again,” said Ed Williams,
executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, which represents LGBT
conservatives.
Harrison Fields, the principal deputy press secretary at the White
House, said, “the overall MAGA movement is a big tent welcome for all
and home to a large swath of the American people.”
“The president continues to foster a national pride that should be
celebrated daily, and he is honored to serve all Americans,” Fields
said.
Presidential actions were widely expected
Trump made anti-transgender attacks a central plank of his campaign
reelection message as he called on Congress to pass a bill stating there
are “only two genders” and pledged to ban hormonal and surgical
intervention for transgender minors. He signed an executive order doing
so in January.
His rally speeches featured a spoof video mocking transgender people and
their place in the U.S. military. Trump has since banned them outright
from serving. And although June is recognized nationally as Pride month,
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters this week
that Trump has “no plans for a proclamation.”
“I can tell you this president is very proud to be a president for all
Americans, regardless of race, religion or creed,” she added, making no
mention of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Williams described Pride activities as a progressive catch-all rather
than a civil rights campaign. “If you’re not in the mood to protest or
resist the Trump administration,” he said, “Pride is not for you.”
Trump declined to issue Pride Month proclamations in his first term, but
did recognize the celebration in 2019 as he publicized a global campaign
to decriminalize homosexuality headed by Richard Grenell, then the U.S.
Ambassador to Germany and the highest-profile openly gay person in the
administration. (Grenell now serves as envoy for special missions.)
“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 posted on social media.
Times have changed where Trump is concerned
This time, there is no celebrating.
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which Trump named himself
chairman of after firing members of the board of trustees, canceled a
week’s worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights for this summer’s World
Pride festival in Washington, D.C., at one of the nation’s premier
cultural institutions.
Trump, who indicated when he took up the position that he would be
dictating programming, had specifically said he would end events
featuring performers in drag. The exterior lights that once lit the
venue on the Potomac River in the colors of the rainbow were quickly
replaced with red, white and blue.
Multiple artists and producers involved in the center’s Tapestry of
Pride schedule, which had been planned for June 5 to 8, told The
Associated Press that their events had been quietly canceled or moved to
other venues.
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President Donald Trump speaks during a summer soiree on the South
Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Alex Brandon)
Inside the White House, there's little second-guessing about the
president's stances. Trump aides have pointed to their decision to
seize on culture wars surrounding transgender rights during the 2024
campaign as key to their win. They poured money into ads aimed at
young men — especially young Hispanic men — attacking Democratic
nominee Kamala Harris for supporting “taxpayer-funded sex changes
for prisoners,” including one spot aired during football games.
“Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you,” the narrator
said.
Jennings flatly rejected assertions that the administration hasn’t
been discriminatory. “Are you kidding me? You’re throwing trans
people out of the military. That’s example No. 1.”
He points to the cancellation of scientific grants and funding for
HIV/AIDS organizations, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's
“petty and mean” order to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, which
commemorates the gay rights activist and Navy veteran.
Jennings also said it doesn't help that Trump has appointed openly
gay men like Grenell and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to
high-profile positions: “I would call it window dressing.”
Less tolerance for the issues as time passes
Craig Konnoth, a University of Virginia professor of civil rights,
compared the U.S.’ trajectory to that of Russia, which has seen a
crackdown on gay and lesbian rights after a long stretch of more
progressive policies. In 2023, Russia’s Supreme Court effectively
outlawed LGBTQ+ activism.
Williams said Trump has made the Republican Party more accepting of
gay people. First lady Melania Trump, he noted, has hosted
fundraisers for his organization.
“On the whole, we think he’s the best president ever for our
community. He’s managed to support us in ways that we have never
been supported by any administration,” Williams said. “We are vastly
accepted within our party now.”
Trump's approach to LGBTQ+ rights comes amid a broader shift among
Republicans, who have grown less tolerant in recent years.
While overall support for same-sex marriage has been stable,
according to Gallup, the percentage of Republicans who think
marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized as valid
with the same rights as traditional marriage dropped to 41% this
year. That's the lowest point since 2016, a year after the Supreme
Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right, and a
substantial decline from a high of 55% in 2021.
There's been a similar drop in the share of Republicans who say that
gay and lesbian relations are morally acceptable, which has dropped
from 56% in 2022 to 38% this year. Democrats, meanwhile, continue to
overwhelmingly support same-sex marriage and say that same-sex
relations are morally acceptable.
An AP-NORC poll from May also found that Trump’s approach to
handling transgender issues has been a point of relative strength
for the president. About half (52%) of U.S. adults said they approve
of how he’s handling transgender issues — a figure higher than his
overall job approval (41%).
Douglas Page, who studies politics and gender at Gettysburg College,
said that “trans rights are less popular than gay rights, with a
minority of Republicans in favor of trans rights. This provides
incentives for Republicans to speak to the conservative side of that
issue.”
“Gay people are less controversial to Republicans compared to trans
people,” he said in an email, “so gay appointees like Secretary
Bessent probably won’t ruffle many feathers.”
___
Colvin reported from New York. Linley Sanders and Fatima Hussein
contributed to this report.
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