During the campaign, Donald Trump was asked if he would issue a Pride Month proclamation if elected. He said he’d “look into it.”
It appears we now have our answer: There will be no such proclamation coming from the Trump White House.
The White House website shows five proclamations for June: “National Homeownership Month,” “National Ocean Month,” “African-American Music Appreciation Month,” “National Caribbean-American Heritage Month,” and “Great Outdoors Month.”
Note the irony of “National Ocean Month” and “Great Outdoors Month” proclamations the day before announcing America would be pulling out of the Paris Agreement.
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The first Pride Month proclamation was made by former president Bill Clinton in 1999. He followed it up with another in 2000. Former president George W. Bush did not continue the practice, but it was resurrected by former president Barack Obama, who issued one for every year of his presidency.
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“I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people,” Obama said in his final Pride Month proclamation.
Unlike Trump, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi did issue a statement celebrating Pride Month, and managed to get in both a shot at the president and a push for the passage of the newly reintroduced Equality Act.
“As we mark LGBT Pride Month, we honor the LGBT leaders who have striven to build a more just society for all, and recognize the struggles and sacrifices they have endured in the fight for equality,” she said. “This month, we celebrate their triumphs and remember that our Founders’ creed – that all are created equal – is not inevitable; that we must work every day to forge a more just, inclusive and perfect union.”
“Tremendous progress has been achieved, but the journey is far from over,” she added. “LGBT Americans face an assault on their rights from the White House and House Republicans, who are gutting HIV prevention and treatment initiatives, dismantling protections for transgender children in public schools and conspiring to render LGBT Americans invisible in the census. These hateful, discriminatory attacks dishonor our nation’s most sacred ideals of liberty and make passage of the Equality Act – which would bring the full force of the Civil Rights Act to secure equality for LGBT people – even more urgent.”
Related: Republican congressman bucks party to support full equality for LGBTQ people
Trump’s unwillingness to honor the LGBTQ community during Pride Month shows that once again his promises during the campaign season to be an ally were hollow words meant to get him elected.
While some in the LGBTQ community continue to stand behind him, by the looks of his sagging poll numbers, Trump is becoming less popular as the days go by as reality tests all those pretty words he spoke out on the campaign trail.
Next time you see him hoist the Pride flag, remember this moment when he, yet again, showed he is no friend to our community.
The Log Cabin Republicans told LGBTQ Nation it wasn’t able to comment at this time.
