Richard Grenell appeared at the
Republican National Convention (RNC) on Thursday, just days after he
made a video praising President Donald Trump as the “most pro-gay
president” in American history.
Trump nominated Grenell to serve as
ambassador to Germany and Grenell later served a stint as acting
director of national intelligence.
But Grenell, whom gay conservatives
hailed for being the first openly gay presidential cabinet member in
history, made no mention of his sexual orientation during Thursday's
speech. Instead, he focused on Trump's “America First” foreign
policy.
“It has no bias about red and blue,
educated or not educated, urban or rural,” Grenell said from a
podium. “America First is simply the belief that politicians should
focus on the equality and dignity of every American, and that duty is
fulfilled by promoting the safety and wealth of the American people.”
Log Cabin Republicans, an LGBT GOP
group, produced the controversial video starring Grenell. In the
video, Grenell praises Trump as the “most pro-gay president” in
history and downplays Democratic candidate Joe Biden's support for
the LGBT community, noting that Biden was opposed to same-sex
marriage during the 2008 election. While Biden at the time did not
support marriage equality, he did support civil unions for gay and
lesbian couples, an important distinction that Grenell failed to
mention. Then-Vice President Biden announced his support for same-sex
marriage during a Sunday appearance on Meet the Press. The
announcement pushed then-President Barack Obama to announce his
support.
Trump, on the other hand, has yet to
say that he supports same-sex marriage, though he's come close a few
times. During the 2016 race, Trump said that he was “fine” with
the Supreme Court's ruling that struck down state constitutional bans
and laws that defined marriage as a heterosexual union. Trump has
also disparaged such unions. In 2011, he
compared marriage equality to a “very unattractive” golf putter,
though he added that he has many gay friends.
Trump's record as president has been
marred by anti-LGBT animus. The administration has taken the position
that current federal law does not protect based on sexual orientation
and gender identity. Federal agencies have re-written policies in
line with this position. The Supreme Court recently disagreed, saying
that LGBT
status is protected in current federal law. The Trump
administration has refused to implement the high court's ruling. The
Trump administration also re-instated a policy that prohibits
transgender people from serving in the military.
And Trump has indicated that he would
sign legislation protecting opponents of marriage equality and is
opposed to the Equality Act, a federal law which would prohibit
anti-LGBT discrimination.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, criticized Grenell's
description of Trump as an LGBT ally. In a 30-second
video released on Wednesday titled “Liar Liar,” the group
called Grenell's statement untrue and noted that The Washington
Post called it “an absurd lie.”
Grenell is the third openly gay person
to speak at a Republican National Convention.