The Trump administration has removed the LGBTQ pride flag from New York City’s historic Stonewall National Monument, which many consider to be the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement. In 2016, the Stonewall National Monument became the first LGBTQ site to receive a national monument designation.

The move came in response to the Trump administration’s guidance on which flags may be displayed on federal properties.

“The removal comes amid a broader federal effort to scrub LGBTQ+ history from government sites and single out transgender people, raising fears among LGBTQ+ advocates that their community faces erasure from public life,” Axios reported.

According to Gay City News, which first reported the removal, the flag was raised “at Christopher Park in 2022 — back when the Biden administration allowed the flag to go up.”

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“Under government-wide guidance,” a spokesperson for the National Park Service told Gay City News, “including General Services Administration policy and Department of the Interior direction, only the US flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags are flown on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions.”

“Any changes to flag displays are made to ensure consistency with that guidance. Stonewall National Monument continues to preserve and interpret the site’s historic significance through exhibits and programs.”

Axios noted that a “January memo includes narrow exemptions for non-agency flags, such as those that ‘provide historical context’ or ‘are part of historic reenactments.'”

Vowing to raise the pride flag again, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said, “We have confirmed that a January 21st federal order has resulted in the removal last weekend of the Pride flag at Stonewall, birthplace of the modern LGBTQ human rights movement. They cannot erase our history.”

New York State Senator Eric Bottcher wrote, “Ordering the removal of Gilbert Baker’s Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument is a shameful attempt to rewrite history. Stonewall is where our community fought back and demanded to be seen. You cannot separate that place from the symbol that grew out of it.”

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Calling Stonewall “sacred ground,” New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin declared the flag’s removal “a deliberate and cowardly attempt to erase … history.”

“This is an attack on LGBTQ+ New Yorkers,” she added, “and we will not stand for it. Our history will not be rewritten, and our rights will not be rolled back.”

California State Senator Scott Wiener commented, “Petty & mean are the point. Like removing the rainbow crosswalk at Pulse & removing Harvey Milk’s name from the navy ship. What these bullies forget is LGBTQ people have been bullied forever & we learned how to fight back. We fought back hard at Stonewall & we’ll do it again.”

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) called the flag’s removal “another disgusting example of the Trump Administration’s effort to erase the LGBTQ+ community. Removing the Pride flag will not make us forget the legacy of Stonewall. I fought for Stonewall to become designated as a National Monument and I will fight to see that the Pride flag is raised again.”

READ MORE: ‘Lied About His Ties’: Fury After ‘Fraud’ Lutnick Says He Took Family to Epstein Island

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President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, admitted during congressional testimony that he took his family to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private island for lunch in 2012.

“I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat, going across on a family vacation,” Secretary Lutnick told U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) on Tuesday. “My wife was with me, as were my four children, and nannies.”

“I had another couple with, they were there as well, with their children, and we had lunch on the island. That is true, for an hour, and we left with all of my children, with my nannies and my wife, all together,” he said. “We were on family vacation. We were not apart. To suggest there was anything untoward about that in 2012. I don’t recall why we did it, but…”

Senator Van Hollen responded: “Mr. Secretary, again, as I said, there’s not an indication that you yourself engaged in any wrongdoing with Jeffrey Epstein. It’s the fact that you … misled the country and the Congress based on your earlier statements, suggesting that you cut off all contact when, in fact, you had not.”

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The Bulwark’s Sam Stein posted a quote from Lutnick, who said, “in the six to eight steps it takes to get from his house to my house, my wife and I decided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again.”

That quote was dated October 1, 2025.

Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, wrote: “Every question to Lutnick on matters of commerce should be prefaced and concluded with ‘how do we know you’re not lying like you lied about Epstein?'”

Hemant Mehta of The Friendly Atheist commented: “I was on my boat, and it just happened to pass by Epstein Island, so I took my kids nannies there, and we all had lunch with children who were already there, and WHY ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT.”

Newsmax’s Marisela Ramirez posted screenshots and wrote: “The email below shows its Lutnik reaching out to Epstein about the lunch. After the lunch, Lutnik allegedly hired a nanny via Epstein in 2013. In 2017 Jeffrey Epstein donated $50,000 to an organization in Lutnick’s honor.”

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The Libertarian Party of Mississippi commented, “Lutnick needs to either resign or be impeached. He previously claimed he severed all ties with Epstein after 2005, but the Epstein files (along with his own Senate testimony) prove he maintained contact, including visiting Epstein’s island for lunch in 2012.”

Democratic strategist Mike Nellis added, “Howard Lutnick lied about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein because he thought the files would never see the light of day. He bet on Trump and Bondi’s cover-up working—and now he’s been exposed for the fraud he is.”

Other social media commenters called for Lutnick’s resignation or firing.

Sen. Van Hollen: “Did you in fact make the visit to Jeffrey Epstein’s private island?”

Lutnick: “I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation…We had lunch on the island, that is true.” pic.twitter.com/X9akfRgAA5

— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) February 10, 2026

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President Donald Trump promoted a claim on Tuesday morning that alleged two prominent Democrats approved leaks of classified information in an effort to “overthrow” the U.S. government.

At 6:35 a.m., Trump reposted a Truth Social post from a user named “Johnny Midnight” that claimed: “Democrat Intelligence Committee staffers turned whistleblowers testified under oath exposed that while sitting in classified meetings, Adam Schiff and his buddy Eric Swalwell, approved leaking classified information in an effort to trigger a special counsel or Select Committee in Congress to overthrow the United States government.”

That post included a video Trump had posted earlier from Fox News’ “Hannity” featuring reporter John Solomon, who said some information was “second hand.”

“This whistleblower,” Solomon said, “literally sat in the meeting, he says, he tells the FBI, where Adam Schiff authorized the leaking of classified secrets to dirty up Donald Trump and to try to build towards either a select committee in Congress or a special prosecutor.”

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The clip offered no details on how the alleged leak would “dirty up” Trump.

That post was just one of fifteen the president posted or promoted early on Tuesday morning. Others included a post claiming that top Trump officials left high-paying jobs to work in the Trump administration, so they “aren’t in it for the money.”

Another post Trump promoted read “Breaking” and included a screenshot of a Newsweek headline stating: “Donald Trump’s approval rating skyrockets with Hispanics.” That headline appears to be from a May 27, 2025 article.

Others included a post alleging, “Ex-FBI agent says Bondi has ‘slam dunk’ conspiracy case against Obama’s feds for election meddling.”

And one purporting to be from “John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr.,” who died in 1999, praising Trump as someone who has been “talking about how to make America great for decades.”

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