Out British actor Ian McKellen has
called President Donald Trump's reversal on LGBT rights “appalling.”
During the presidential campaign, Trump
pledged to be a better “friend” to the LGBT community than his
Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. In accepting the Republican
nomination in Cleveland, he said that he would “protect” the
community. These gestures led many to believe that Trump favored
LGBT rights, though he has in the past said that he's
opposed to marriage equality and has evaded
the question as president.
As president, Trump revoked Obama-era
federal guidelines that instructed public schools to allow
transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice and has yet
to acknowledge June as LGBT Pride month. He's also picked a mostly
anti-LGBT rights cabinet and he continues to associate with leaders
opposed to such rights.
“Are you concerned about the Trump
administration rolling back rights for gay people and for gay youth,
because he did run on a pro-gay platform and now that he's in office
he seems to have changed that. Are you concerned?” Variety
asked McKellen.
“I don't always understand what
[Trump] says and when I do, I have to admit later that I got it
wrong, because he changed his mind or changed his mind about what he
said,” McKellen
responded. “He's a very bad communicator, at least to me. Get
more straightforward, Donald, and then we can take you seriously.”
“But if what you're saying is true,
it's appalling and quite unnecessary and very un-American.”
“The gay rights movement began in
America. It began in San Francisco. It began in Stonewall, the city
where Donald Trump was born and thrived,” McKellen added, referring
to New York City.