Black, gay Trump supporter brutally taunted with slurs at rightwing conference

Black gay Republican podcaster Rob Smith has claimed that “white supremacist” members of his political party called him “fa**ot” and the n-word during his Sunday night attendance of Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest event in Phoenix, Arizona. Though Smith posted a video of his brief interaction with the aggressors, commenters on X (formerly Twitter) noted that the video didn’t feature the n-word and mocked Smith his membership in an anti-gay political party.

“Last night in Phoenix, I was confronted and surrounded by some White Supremacists that don’t like gays or blacks in the Republican Party,” Smith wrote in a December 18 post on X. “They shouted ‘n****r’ and ‘f****t’ at me to make their point. However, I served in Iraq. I never back down. Ever.”

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And the internet replied, “We told you so.”

The accompanying video in Smith’s post showed a group of young white men mocking him as he recorded a video of himself on his smartphone repeatedly saying, “I’ve got fans!” After a while, the men started chanting, “Gay sex.”

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When the men quieted down, Smith replied, “Yes, [white nationalist broadcaster] Nick Fuentes loves gay sex.” The crowd then booed him. One man said, “No, he doesn’t,” before another led the group in chanting, “Fa**ot.” The group then started chanting, “America First,” a slogan associated with former President Donald Trump.

One commenter on X replied to Smith’s post, writing, “black guy lying about being called the n word as usual- even then, it’s just a word. You’re not a conservative, we don’t care if you served in Iraq or not fruitcake.”

Some Republicans and conservative X users apologized to Smith on behalf of all Republicans. Christina Pushaw, the press secretary for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) who said that anyone who opposes his “Don’t Say Gay” law is a child sex predator, called the men in the video “embarrassing,” “delusional” “gutter trash.” Chaya Raichik, the Libs of TikTok founder whose posts regularly lead to bombing and death threats, called the video “sick.”

Other commenters noted that Pushaw and Raichik’s anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric seems in line with the young men’s words. Some X commenters repeatedly encouraged Smith to leave the Republican party or asked what he expected from a party that is so anti-LGBTQ+.

The national Republican platform opposes same-sex marriage (even though the U.S. Supreme Court legalized it in 2015). The platform opposes the expansion of civil rights to include sexual orientation and gender identity and also supports Trump’s transgender military ban, conversion therapy, and the right for businesses to discriminate against same-sex couples.

Turning Point USA is an organization for young conservatives. Its AmericaFest gathering featured Roseanne Barr, a Holocaust denialist; Jason Whitlock, a man who thinks Jews are conspiring with LGBTQ+ and Black people for a “one-world government;” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a rabid queerphobe; Tucker Carlson, the openly bigoted former Fox News host; Vivek Ramaswamy, the most transphobic Republican presidential candidate of all time; and Jack Posobiec, the promoter of the anti-gay #Pizzgate conspiracy theory that eventually morphed into QAnon, whose believers regularly accuse gay politicians and allies of sexually abusing kids.

Turning Point USA’s founder, Charlie Kirk, has attacked transgender people, described opposition to religious exemptions as “fascism” and also once claimed that trans people are trying to turn human beings into machines. Turning Point USA activists have injured a queer professor who they accused of grooming children and shouted about oral sex in a children’s toy store because an employee wore a rainbow pin.

“Kirk has moved further to the right and promotes conspiracy theories about election fraud and COVID-19. He also promotes a form of Christian nationalism: the idea that Christians should dominate government,” The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) wrote. “While TPUSA leaders say they reject white supremacist ideology,” ADL noted that “the group continues to attract racists” and “known white nationalists have attended their events.”

Smith is a former contributor to LGBTQ Nation’s sibling site Queerty.