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One Day Before Trump Banned Trans Soldiers Log Cabin Republicans Called President a ‘Quiet Ally’ and a ‘Do No Harm Guy’

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LGBT GOP Group Bragged About White House Access and Said ‘We Are More Relevant Than Ever’

Just one day before President Donald Trump banned all transgender service members from the U.S. military the leaders of a group that advocates for LGBT Republicans bragged to a right wing news site about the high level of access they have in the Trump White House and how much more “relevant” they have become now that Donald Trump is President.

Log Cabin Republicans is a group of “LGBT Republicans and allies who support equality under the law for all, free markets, individual liberty, limited government, and a strong national defense,” according to its website. The group of “loyal Republicans” will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year with a bash at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The organization released a statement blasting President Trump for banning transgender service members:

“This smacks of politics, pure and simple,” the statement begins. “The United States military already includes transgender individuals who protect our freedom day in and day out. Excommunicating transgender soldiers only weakens our readiness; it doesn’t strengthen it. The president’s statement this morning does a disservice to transgender military personnel and reintroduces the same hurtful stereotypes conjured when openly gay men and women were barred from service during the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ era. As an organization that led the charge against that hateful policy, Log Cabin Republicans remains equally committed to standing up for transgender military personnel who put their lives on the line to keep us free.”

But in an interview just 24 hours before, the heads of the Log Cabin Republicans were bragging about the great relationship they have with the Trump administration.

“At best, Trump is a quiet ally,” Log Cabin Republicans President Gregory T. Angelo (photo) told the Washington Examiner‘s Paul Bedard in an interview published Tuesday. “He’s certainly a ‘do no harm’ guy.”

Bedard reports “Log Cabin has suddenly become a main driver of key gay and transgender civil rights in Washington.”

In the puff piece interview Angelo “said the Trump Hotel fundraising dinner and expansion of GOP heavy hitters [to its board] is ‘a way to show that we are more relevant than ever.'”

And he bragged about the expanded access LCR has to the White House.

“Angelo said that the White House has been responsive to his calls and meeting requests. ‘It’s night and day, no meeting has been denied,’ he said.”

In just the past two months, Log Cabin officials have met with White House, Education Department, Pentagon, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officials to discuss civil rights issues, said Gregory T. Angelo, president of the group that turns 40 this year.

Log Cabin Republicans chair Sarah Longwell also was happy to extol her organization’s ability to advocate for LGBT people in Trump’s White House.

“It really does hold Log Cabin to be that choice for the entire LGBT community,” Longwell told the Examiner. “We’re the only ones who are going to be making sure that Republicans get better every day on our issues.”

While Log Cabin Republicans did not endorse Trump, under Angelo’s leadership they did issue a statement saying: “Mr. Trump is perhaps the most pro-LGBT presidential nominee in the history of the Republican Party.”

Angelo has made clear he’s a real Trump fanboy. In September of 2016, he tweeted that “Trump’s mention of ‘LGBTQ’ was an historic first.” Earlier that year he posted this tweet:

And in February, ignoring the fact that Trump is the first President of any party to enter office after marriage equality became “settled” “law of the land,” he tweeted this:

Just days ago, Angelo posted this tweet:

After the Log Cabin Republicans declined to endorse Trump, HuffPost Queer Voices editor-at-large Michelangelo Signorile blasted the group and rightly accused them of holding a “preposterous” position.

If Trump is the “most pro-LGBT” nominee, after all, why not endorse him, especially if you had endorsed candidates you’re admitting were less “pro-LGBT” and whose “doctrine” you believe was far worse?

RELATED STORIES:

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Uses Debunked DADT Claims of ‘Military Readiness and Cohesion’ to Justify Trump Trans Military Ban

Chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee on Trump’s Total Transgender Ban: Not So Fast

UPDATING: Pentagon Policy on Trump Total Ban of All Transgender Service Members: ‘Call the White House’

Trump Administration Official Admits Decision Banning All Transgender Service Members Is Purely Political

BREAKING: Trump Announces Total Ban on Transgender Service Members

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‘I Feel a Little Bit Dumber for What You Say’: The Nine Worst Moments of the GOP Presidential Debate

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The second Republican presidential debate was mired in in-fighting and personal attacks by the candidates,  a vow to wage physical war against Mexico, hate against LGBTQ people, an insistence the U.S. Constitution doesn’t actually mean what the words on the page say, and a fight over curtains.

Here are nine of the worst moments from Wednesday night’s debate.

The debate itself got off to a rough start right from the beginning.

Multiple times candidate cross-talk made it impossible for anyone to make a point, like this moment when nearly half the candidates talked over each other during a nearly two minute segment as the moderators struggled to take control.

READ MORE: ‘I Don’t Think So’: As GOP Debate Kicks Off Trump Teases Out the Chances of Any Candidate Becoming His Running Mate

Vivek Ramasway got into a heated argument with Nikki Haley, leading the former Trump UN Ambassador to tell him, “Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.”


Ramaswamy launched an attack on transgender children.

Moments after Ramaswamy attacked transgender children, so did Mike Pence, calling supporting transgender children’s rights “crazy.”

He promised “a federal ban on transgender chemical or surgical surgery anywhere in the country,” and said: “We’ve got to protect our kids from this radical gender ideology agenda.”

Former New Jersey Governor Cris Christie described the First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, who has dedicated her life to teaching, as the person President Biden is “sleeping with.”

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, as CNN’s Manu Raju noted were “one-time allies,” after “Haley appointed Scott to his Senate seat,” until they started “going at it at [the] debate.”

“Talk about someone who has never seen a federal dollar she doesn’t like,” Scott charged. “Bring it, Tim,” Haley replied before they got into a fight about curtains.

Senator Scott declared, “Black families survived slavery, we survived poll taxes and literacy tests, we survived discrimination being woven into the laws of our country. What was hard to survive was [President] Johnson’s Great Society, where they decided to take the Black father out of the household to get a check in the mail.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, currently leading over everyone on stage, said practically nothing for the first 15 minutes. He may have said the least of all the candidates on stage Wednesday night. But he denounced Donald Trump for being “missing in action.”

Watch all the videos above or at this link.

 

 

 

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‘I Don’t Think So’: As GOP Debate Kicks Off Trump Teases Out the Chances of Any Candidate Becoming His Running Mate

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Donald Trump, again refusing to participate in a GOP debate, teased out the fate of every candidate on stage Wednesday night: he will choose none of them as his vice presidential running mate.

The ex-president who is facing 91 felony charges in four criminal cases across three jurisdictions and is now also facing the dissolution of his business empire, brought up the running mate question around the same time the debate on Fox News was kicking off.

“It’s all over television, this speech,” Trump falsely claimed, referring to his live remarks at a non-union shop one day after President Joe Biden stood on the picket line with UAW workers.

READ MORE: ‘Apparently You’ll Never Believe Us’: House Republican Melts Down After Reporter Questions His ‘Evidence’ Against Biden

“You know, we’re competing with the job candidates,” Trump said, mocking his fellow Republican presidential candidates after he scheduled an event opposite the debate he refused to attend.

“They’re all running for a job,” he continued, as the audience began to boo.

“They want to be in the, they’ll do anything,” he continued. “Secretary of something.”

“They even say VP, I don’t know,” Trump said. “Does anybody see any VP in the group? I don’t think so.”

Watch below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Careening’ Toward ‘Risk of Political Violence’: Experts Sound Alarm After Trump Floats Executing His Former General

 

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‘Apparently You’ll Never Believe Us’: House Republican Melts Down After Reporter Questions His ‘Evidence’ Against Biden

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Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) became defensive and accusatory after repeatedly being unable to answer a reporter’s questions in a press conference Wednesday, held to announce what House Republicans claim is “evidence” against President Joe Biden.

A shortened version of the video posted by the news organization Heartland Signal went viral, garnering nearly one million views in under three hours on the social media platform X.

“Mr. Chairman, question about the timing of all of this,” began an NBC News reporter identified by Mediaite as Ryan Nobles. “You’re talking about a two-tiered system of justice. If I’m not mistaken, on August 7, 2020 Bill Barr was the attorney general and Donald Trump was the president, so explain to me where the two-tiered system of justice comes into play. And then the WhatsApp message you have, I believe, is dated June 6, 2017. Joe Biden is not vice president or even a candidate for president at that time. So where is the direct connection to some sort of criminal malfeasance within these two pieces of evidence?”

RELATED: ‘Everybody Has Seen That’: Fox News Host Smacks Down Republican Pushing Biden ‘Burismo’ Video People ‘Not Talking About’

Chairman Smith could not only not answer any part of those questions, he appeared to forget a portion of them.

“Well, I think the facts speak for themselves,” Smith replied. “There’s over 700 pages of examples of, where people should be very concerned, when you’re talking about um, ah, – what was your first question?”

Smith went on to say, “It doesn’t matter who’s in the White House,” after being reminded them President at that time was Donald Trump. “We need to make sure that the Department of Justice works for all people and doesn’t treat those who are politically connected or wealthy much differently. And unfortunately, we have several examples that came forward by the two IRS whistleblowers, that proves that people are treated differently because they’re politically connected.”

“Are you suggesting that Joe Biden being the president now, is unfairly treating Donald Trump in his indictment?” Nobles asked.

Again, Smith did not answer the question.

“What I’m talking about is the 700 pages that we have before us, which is all the information that came from the IRS whistleblowers, and that’s what we’re releasing right now,” Smith replied, again not answering Nobles’ question. “And I’ll tell you, I would encourage everyone in this room to look at those 700 pages. If you think it’s okay, with what’s in it, then we live on two different planets.”

RELATED: ‘You F**ked Me – I Know It Was You’: Top House Republican ‘Exploded’ at McCarthy After Losing Chairmanship

“Can you explain the timing of the August 6 WhatsApp message? Why is that evidence of some wrongdoing?” Nobles continued..

“I’m not an expert on the timeline,” Smith admitted, before pivoting to say, “I would love to have President Biden and his family to tell us about all the timelines, because it’s really, really unfortunate that we see so many meetings and so many phone calls that involved around official activity that the Vice President has been participating in, and then big sums of money follows later –”

“But he’s not the president or the vice president at that time. Where, where’s the wrongdoing? He wasn’t even a candidate for president,” Nobles pointed out.

“He was a candidate – ” Smith claimed.

“On August 6 –” Nobles began before Smith interrupted him.

“So apparently apparent – what source are you with?” Chairman Smith asked Noble.

“I’m with NBC,” the reporter replied.

“So apparently, you’ll never believe us,” Smith charged.

“I’m asking you a very direct question,” Nobles explained. “You presented a piece of evidence that you say came on August 6, 2017, that demonstrates that Joe Biden was using political influence to help his son. He wasn’t a political figure at that time. The first WhatsApp message you put up, where yo talk about the brand,” Nobles explained. “I’m completely open minded about this. I’m asking you specifically, how does that demonstrate that there was some sort of political influence being put over him, if at that time, he is not a political – he’s not an elected official?”

“I’m definitely not going to pinpoint one item,” Chairman Smith said defensively.

READ MORE: ‘Jaw Dropping’: Democratic Senator Slams Tuberville’s ‘Open’ Talk About ‘White Supremacy’

“You presented it!” Nobles acclaimed. “It was the first thing that you brought up.”

“So apparently, you don’t agree with that. So report that you disagree with it. I’ll take the next question. Yes?” Smith said, refusing to answer any of Nobles’ questions.

Watch below or at this link.

 

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