Or maybe not. Over at Think Progress, Zack Ford notes that while the Trump administration has issued proclamations this week recognizing June as National Ocean Month and National Homeownership Month, a statement for LGBT Pride Month—also celebrated this month in commemoration of the legendary Stonewall Riots—is nowhere to be found. This would be the first June without an LGBT Pride Month proclamation or White House reception since George W. Bush was in office, and we all remember how well that went in terms of equality:
President Bill Clinton was the first president to issue a Pride Month proclamation. The tradition didn’t immediately catch on; his successor, President George W. Bush, was an outspoken opponent of LGBTQ equality who campaigned on banning same-sex marriage. But President Barack Obama not only embraced the tradition, but also set a new precedent for it. In addition to issuing a proclamation at the beginning of each Pride Month of his two terms, he also held an annual White House reception to celebrate the movers and shakers of the LGBTQ movement. There is no reception on Trump’s agenda, and the absence of a Pride Month proclamation is quite conspicuous.
Ford notes that some federal agencies will hold smaller Pride events, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “Trump’s appointed leaders have been invited, such as HUD Secretary Ben Carson, but it remains to be seen if they’ll show.” Because who wouldn’t want to celebrate LGBT Pride Month with a man who called trans people “the height of absurdity”?
Remember that though Trump said during his convention speech that he would “protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology,” hateful domestic ideology from his administration is a whole different matter:
Though Trump has frequently boasted that he’s LGBTQ-friendly, his record doesn’t show it; in fact, he hasn’t taken a single pro-LGBTQ action in office. Instead, he’s withdrawn guidance protecting transgender and gender-nonconforming students, dropped out of several court cases related to LGBTQ rights, and appointed countless personnel with viciously anti-LGBTQ records. Even during his campaign, the only times Trump mentioned LGBTQ issues was when he was trying to convince the queer community to embrace Islamophobia.
Sadly, too many in the media fell for the batshit ridiculous notion that Trump would be the first pro-LGBT Republican president because he went to Elton John’s wedding (who wouldn’t? He looks like he throws a fun party) and managed to not stumble over the acronym during the speech. Most LGBT people knew better, though—they overwhelmingly rejected Trump, voting for popular vote winner Hillary Clinton 78 percent to 14 percent.
So, after today, maybe we can drop the “Trump is an LGBT ally” or “Ivanka is helping moderate Trump” claims if he can’t even recognize LGBT Pride Month with a simple statement or White House mixer. This includes you, Maggie Haberman.