A recently circulated campaign mailer sent out to registered republicans in Iowa touted Trump’s achievements in LGBTQ rights over the years. While at first glance the mailer feels akin to Trump’s 2016 campaign where he held up a crudely made ‘LGBTs for Trump’ flag at a Colorado rally, the mailer was actually paid for by a newly created PAC in Iowa who are most likely backing Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential election.
The mailer claims Trump stood up for marriage equality and trans rights, citing the fact that he invited log cabin republicans (conservatives who identify as LGBTQ) to Mar-a-Lago last year. The mailer refers to a 2022 law as the “Marriage Equality Act,” which does not exist. They most likely meant “The Respect for Marriage Act” which requires states to approve and acknowledge out-of-state marriage licenses issued to interracial couples.
Under a graphic that reads “Transgender Trailblazer,” the mailer recounts a story of when Trump “personally” allowed a trans woman to compete in Miss Universe Canada, a beauty pageant that he owned. “We let her in,” he said in a 2012 video that Fox News found using the Wayback Machine. The video’s current YouTube link says that it has been made private.
While the language in the mailer seems to be praising Trump for his allyship, however conflated, in the context of an increasingly homophobic and transphobic Republican party, it’s unlikely that whoever made it thought it would rally voters to Trump. In fact, the messaging echoes a recent video shared by the DeSantis campaign Twitter account “DeSantis War Room” that slams Trump for being too soft on the LGBTQ community.
DeSantis has vowed to create, in his words, draconian laws around gay and transgender rights should he be elected president. DeSantis is currently in a distant second place in 2024 Republican primary polling, getting an average of 20.9% support in recent polls, according to RealClearPolitics. Trump is first with an average of 53% something we never thought would be a comfort, but in comparison to DeSantis, Trump’s clownery seems slightly (if just barely) less harmful.
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