Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of former
President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
on Thursday chided The Washington Post for stating that
President Donald Trump has a “confusing” stance on LGBT rights.
The Post promoted a “The Fix”
column written by Kayla Epstein with a
tweet that read: “Analysis: Trump's stance on LGBT rights has
always been confusing.”
The column appeared after Trump
announced that the military will no longer “accept or allow”
transgender troops to serve “in any capacity.”
(Related: Trump
says military will bar transgender troops.)
“At times,” Epstein wrote in the
piece, “[Trump] has appeared to wholeheartedly support the LGBT
community. But throughout his presidential campaign, the actual
degree of his support was less clear.”
Trump has a “muddled stance on the
issue of LGBT rights,” she wrote in the story.
As president, Trump rescinded guidance
instructing public schools to allow transgender students to use the
bathroom of their choice, filed an
amicus
brief in a case arguing that current law does not protect LGBT
workers from discrimination, refused to acknowledge June as LGBT
Pride month, appointed a conservative justice to the Supreme Court
who marriage equality opponents believe will reverse Obergefell,
and has filled his cabinet with people vocally opposed to LGBT
rights, including Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General Jeff
Sessions, Housing Secretary Ben Carson, Education Secretary Betsy
DeVos and Energy Secretary Rick Perry, to name a few.
Trump and most of his administration
have also kept mum about reported persecution of gay and bisexual men
in Chechnya, a semi-autonomous region of Russia.
“No,” Clinton tweeted in response
to the Post's story. “President Trump has consistently
failed to support LGBT equal rights, dignity & safety in the U.S.
& around world (e.g. Chechnya/Russia).”
(Related: Chelsea
Clinton says she helped Hillary Clinton evolve on gay marriage.)