Gay Activists and Evangelicals: Is This Trump's Coalition?
What message is the Republican party sending out to America?
Republican leaders proudly announced that they had drafted "the most conservative platform in modern history," yet Peter Thiel, an out and proud gay billionaire, who was a featured speaker on the last night of the RNC, denigrated the "fake culture wars" and made clear he did not affirm all of his party's platform. And he was warmly received by the crowd.
What are we to make of this? (Note also that Thiel spoke the same night as evangelical leader Tony Perkins, who helped craft the party's conservative platform.)
The gay activist Human Rights Campaign (better known as the HRC, which, appropriately mirrors the initials of Hillary Rodham Clinton), has launched a Dump Trump website because of his "dangerous positions on issues of LGBTQ equality," stating that Trump "doubled down on his anti-LGBTQ agenda by putting Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on the ticket."
In contrast, controversial gay conservative Milo Yiannapoulis has called Trump "the most pro-gay candidate possibly in American electoral history," noting that his "gays for Trump" event at the RNC sold out within 24 hours.