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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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‘He Was the Only One’: Trump Mocked for Declaring Iran’s Moves ‘Shocked’ Him

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President Donald Trump is facing criticism and mockery after admitting he was “shocked” that Iran fought back against Operation Epic Fury.

“Trump just admitted publicly that his administration underestimated the Iranian response to his attack,” The Washington Post’s Josh Rogin reported.

During a meeting of the board governing the Kennedy Center, Trump said, “look what happened. In the last two weeks, they weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East. Those missiles were set to go after them. So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.”

Focusing on Trump’s “shocked” remark, some critics blasted the president, once again, for what many have previously said is a Commander-in-Chief who was unprepared to go to war against Iran.

The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser called Trump’s comments a “Remarkable admission.”

READ MORE: ‘Lazy and Unstrategic’: GOP Senator Slams ‘Republican on Republican Violence’

Former Republican U.S. Rep. Justin Amash declared, “We are governed by complete morons.”

Podcaster Clint Russell noted, “Just FYI, this is the EXACT reason our generals have consistently advised against a war with Iran. Even Charlie Kirk had laid this all out on his show a couple years ago. Iran was no threat to America but they were fully capable of destroying the global economy by striking oil facilities and transit throughout the region.”

Robert Manning, a Distinguished Fellow in Global Foresight at the nonpartisan Stimson Center, wrote: “If so, he was the only one surprised. Strategic planners have war games this for 40 years. Hard to believe JCS [Joint Chiefs of Staff] didn’t advise Trump this was likely.”

“I’m pretty confident every war plan US has ever done in last 30 years gaming out this conflict was based on expectation that Iran could in fact [and] would in fact do this,” noted The Nation’s Jeet Heer.

“Every institution built to prevent exactly this outcome existed, was bypassed, and we are now watching the president express shock at conclusions that were already written in the classified assessments he didn’t read,” observed Christine Villaverde, the chairwoman of Anchoring Democracy.

READ MORE: Kristi Noem at Center of Push for DOJ Perjury Probe: Report

 

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‘Lazy and Unstrategic’: GOP Senator Slams ‘Republican on Republican Violence’

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A prominent Republican senator is denouncing his own party while lamenting the lack of an official presidential endorsement in the highly contentious Texas Republican Senate runoff election.

Agreeing that it is a mistake for President Donald Trump to withhold his endorsement of either Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton or U.S. Senator John Cornyn, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) warned, “I think the more time we spend millions of dollars with Republican-on-Republican violence, Democrats are in the marketing department, loving the idea of a competitive runoff.”

“I get tired of Republicans being lazy and unstrategic,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju, appearing to suggest there are other ways for one of the candidates to pull ahead.

“People on my side of the aisle, and people at the far right of the political spectrum, are trying to swing for the fences, and they’re not gonna succeed,” he warned.

READ MORE: Kristi Noem at Center of Push for DOJ Perjury Probe: Report

A runoff election between Cornyn and Paxton will take place on May 26, and the president has yet to endorse either contender.

Reports suggest a Cornyn endorsement is more likely, although Paxton has been a reliable MAGA supporter. Trump has even suggested that whichever candidate does not get his backing should quit the race entirely, clearing the way for the presumptive nominee to battle the Democratic nominee, James Talarico.

“The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, on March 4, “cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!”

He vowed to make his endorsement “soon,” but has yet to do so.

Each passing day gives Talarico more time to campaign and build his war chest as the two GOP contenders spend their time and money battling each other.

READ MORE: Gas Prices Near $4 in These Five States

 

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Gas Prices Near $4 in These Five States

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Gas prices are continuing to substantially increase, with five states now hovering near $4 a gallon and several others seeing sharp increases as President Donald Trump’s war in Iran enters its 17th day.

“Big gas price hikes just now starting to happen in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri today, which will likely push the national average to $3.75-$3.80 by mid-week,” reports Patrick De Haan, the head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy.

But, he also notes that Michigan and the Chicago area are already seeing $3.99 per gallon as of Monday. Indiana drivers are seeing $3.89, and Ohio and Kentucky are seeing $3.79 per gallon.

De Haan directly attributes the increases to the summer gasoline changeover and the ongoing Iran situation.

“The national average is up 80.0 cents from a month ago and is 66.1 cents per gallon higher than a year ago,” WANE reports, citing GasBuddy’s data.

Drivers should not expect to see prices come down significantly anytime soon.

“Until we see a meaningful resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, upward pressure on fuel prices is likely to persist,” De Haan said. “At the same time, seasonal forces are beginning to intensify as several regions complete the transition to summer gasoline, creating a double headwind that could continue driving pump prices higher in the weeks ahead.”

READ MORE: Kristi Noem at Center of Push for DOJ Perjury Probe: Report

 

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