During a White House briefing on
Friday, Richard Grenell refused to answer a reporter's question about
the Trump administration's global initiative to decriminalize
homosexuality.
Grenell, who is gay, is the former
acting director of national intelligence and ambassador to Germany.
He is also head of the Trump campaign's outreach to LGBT voters.
Grenell was asked by the New York
Post's Steven Nelson about the initiative, which appears to have
fizzled, while announcing a Serbia-Kosovo agreement the Trump
administration facilitated. Instead of answering the question,
Grenell scolded reporters.
“I'm going to just talk about Kosovo
and Serbia,” Grenell is quoted as saying by the Washington
Blade. “I don't know if you can find it on a map, but this is
atrocious. I have to tell you guys. You might be too young to
understand what this issue is about. Maybe the older journalists
should step and say, 'This is a big deal. This is a big issue.'”
“Get substantive. Maybe it's too
complicated of an issue for you all.”
“We're getting the same questions
that are all politics. You guys don't understand what's happening
outside of Washington, D.C. People aren't listening to you anymore.
It's really a crisis in journalism,” he
added.
The Blade
pointed out that the Serbia-Kosovo deal includes a pledge by both
parties to “work with the 69 countries that criminalize
homosexuality to push for decriminalization.” Journalists also said
that they had not had an opportunity to review the agreement.
In a video posted online as the
Republican National Convention (RNC) was taking place, Grenell
praised President Donald Trump as the “most pro-gay president” in
American history. The Washington Post called the statement “an
absurd lie.”
(Related: Following
video praising Trump as pro-gay, Grenell mum on being gay in RNC
speech.)