Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel tweeted her support for Pride Month and faced immediate backlash, given the slew of anti-LGBTQ legislation pushed by the GOP.
The Republican Party was “proud to have doubled our LGBTQ support over the last 4 years,” wrote McDaniel. She vowed to “continue to grow our big tent by supporting measures that promote fairness and balance protections for LGBTQ Americans and those with deeply held religious beliefs.”
Happy #PrideMonth!@GOP is proud to have doubled our LGBTQ support over the last 4 years, and we will continue to grow our big tent by supporting measures that promote fairness and balance protections for LGBTQ Americans and those with deeply held religious beliefs.
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) June 2, 2021
McDaniel’s post sharply contradicted Republican-led anti-LGBTQ measures and jarred many.
Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, called out McDaniel. Pete Buttigieg in February became the first openly gay person confirmed to a Cabinet seat.
“Re-visit your party’s platform before you open your mouth about #pride,” Chasten Buttigieg responded to McDaniel.
Those with "deeply held religious beliefs" are often the parents who force their LGBTQ children out of the home and onto the street. I've met with those kids. 40% of homeless youth in this country are LGBTQ. Re-visit your party's platform before you open your mouth about #pride. https://t.co/z36BuFrQsO
— Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (@Chasten) June 3, 2021
Others joined the criticism:
GOP leader says her party will "balance protections for LGBTQ Americans and those with deeply held religious beliefs."
— davidrlurie (@davidrlurie) June 3, 2021
Doesn't she know that many LGBTQ Americans have deeply held religious beliefs? https://t.co/S7eFGPTh4o
Literally the first thing the Trump administration did was to erase all LGBTQ content from all federal websites.
— Brion Neeley-Ryder 🏳️🌈 (@brionneeley) June 3, 2021
Your party is anti-LGBTQ
Your party's platform is anti-LGBTQ
“We at @GOP will balance protections for LGBTQ Americans and those who want to discriminate against them like it’s 1939 Germany.”
— Frank Wells (@FrankTracy) June 2, 2021
I challenge @GOPChairwoman to name a single pro-LGBTQ policy supported by the group of fascists she represents https://t.co/4ZO4OPs888
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) June 3, 2021
The official party platform calls for overturning Obergfell https://t.co/PM9KZo9K4t
— Drew Savicki 🦖🦕🦖 (@DrewSav) June 3, 2021
“Doubled” sounds a lot better than “going from 3 to 6 people” https://t.co/UZQ4SK7AsU
— Jon Seff (@jonseff) June 3, 2021
Better to have said nothing than this. https://t.co/3IchyNkOOW
— Mark Joyella 🏳️🌈 (@standupkid) June 3, 2021
"Cheers queers! We're so glad there's four of you now! We're gonna have such a *good* time totally pretending to care about you while actually making it easier for the rest of us to discriminate against you. And you'll be like so helpful for planning the next coup! LET'S PARTY!" https://t.co/4U7nBvOd0b
— Zack Ford (@ZackFord) June 3, 2021
happy pride, from the GOP to you! https://t.co/SnE1KDxYsy pic.twitter.com/2EQ8MbbMLC
— agent of chaos ☃️ (@jhtweets_) June 3, 2021
remind me again what you get if you double "zero." https://t.co/c1ZAuTGOoB
— Elaine Atwell (@ElaineAtwell) June 3, 2021
It’s a sin to tell a lie, Ms. McDaniel. https://t.co/Z7odJsb8Q6
— Chris Espinosa (@cdespinosa) June 3, 2021
Is this the party of diversity equity and inclusion now? I’m gonna need a better class of pandering than this.
— Matt Youngblood🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@_TheYoungBlood) June 3, 2021
Keep the words "Happy Pride" out of your mouth.
— TrumpsTaxes (@TrumpsTaxes) June 3, 2021
You've done nothing to stop the wave of anti-trans legislation this year.
You did nothing to stop Trumps anti-LGBTQ actions during his ONE term Presidency.
We SEE you, Ronna.
My goodness, the cognitive dissonance is staggering. Day 1 of Pride Month, DeSantis signed a bill taking away rights...but cool
— Kevin Kindelberger (@KevinKindelber2) June 2, 2021
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