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Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016/LGBTQ rights

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Donald Trump announced his presidential run on June 16, 2015.[1]

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Donald Trump
2016 Republican presidential nominee
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See below what Donald Trump and the 2016 Republican Party Platform said about LGBTQ rights.

CANDIDATE SUMMARY
  • Trump said states should decide whether transgender people may use restrooms matching their gender identity.
  • Trump opposed same-sex marriages.

    • Republican Party Trump on LGBTQ rights

    • After previously stating that North Carolina should "[l]eave it the way it is," and permit transgender individuals to use the restroom they feel most comfortable using, Donald Trump told ABC News on May 13, 2016, “I believe it should be states’ rights and the state should make the decision. They’re more capable of making the decision.” Trump made this comment after the Obama administration issued guidance directing public schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms matching their gender identity.[2][3]
    • In an interview on April 21, 2016, Donald Trump said that North Carolina erred when it passed a bill restricting transgender individuals’ access to bathrooms that conform with their gender identity. “North Carolina did something that was very strong and they’re paying a big price. There’s a lot of problems. You leave it the way it is. There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom they feel is appropriate, there has been so little trouble, and the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife, and the economic punishment that they’re taking,” Trump said. He added that he would be comfortable with transgender activist Caitlyn Jenner using whichever bathroom she chose in Trump Tower.[4]
    • On the issue of gay marriage, Donald Trump said during a November 2013 interview on MSNBC, "I think I’m evolving, and I think I’m a very fair person, but I have been for traditional marriage. I am for traditional marriage, I am for a marriage between a man and a woman.”[5]
    • In a March 2011 interview with The Des Moines Register, Trump said gay couples should not be allowed to marry or receive the same benefits as married heterosexual couples.[6]
    Obergefell v. Hodges
    • In a June 28, 2015, interview on CNN's "State of the Union," Donald Trump was asked by anchor Jake Tapper how Trump's three marriages fit into the definition of "traditional marriage." Trump responded that someone asking the question has "a very good point" and suggested he was at fault for his divorces. Tapper said he wasn't asking for an explanation for Trump's divorces, but rather what he would say to a gay person on this question. Trump answered, "I don't say anything. I'm just for traditional marriage."[7]
    Transgender restroom access
    • Before a campaign event in Raleigh, N.C., on July 5, 2016, reporters backstage asked Trump if he supported HB 2, the North Carolina law that prohibits transgender individuals from using a bathroom that does not match their gender at birth, or if he thought the state should make changes to it. Trump replied, "I'm going with the state. The state, they know what's going on. They see what's happening and generally speaking I go with the state on things like this." Later during his appearance, Trump told supporters that he would be “better for the gay community” than Clinton.[9][10]
    • During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on May 25, 2016, Trump refused to take a stance on the transgender restroom issue and told Kimmel, “Let the states decide.” When Kimmel pressed Trump for his personal opinion, Trump said only, “I think the states will do the right thing.” Asked what the right thing is, Trump said, “I don’t know yet. I mean, I don’t know.”[11]
    • After saying that transgender individuals should "use the "bathroom that they feel is appropriate," on April 21, 2016, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity later that day that while he disagrees with the law, he believes North Carolina had a right to enact it. “I think that local communities and states should make the decision,” Trump said. “And I feel very strongly about that. The federal government should not be involved.” Trump also told Hannity that states should “absolutely" be able to decide whether to implement such a law.[12]
    • Discussing the North Carolina law that prohibits transgender individuals from using a bathroom that does not match their gender at birth during a town hall event on NBC's Today on April 21, 2016, Trump said, "There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go. They use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate." Trump continued "There has been so little trouble. And the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife and the economic -- I mean, the economic punishment that they're taking."[13]
    • Referring to businesses that have canceled expansions in North Carolina because of the law, Trump also said, "Leave it the way it is. North Carolina, what they're going through with all the business that's leaving, all of the strife -- and this is on both sides. Leave it the way it is."[13]
    • On August 17, 2015, MSNBC asked Gregory T. Angelo, executive director of the pro-LGBT Log Cabin Republicans, if it was safe to call Trump 2016’s most LGBT-friendly Republican. He responded, “I think that might be going a little overboard.” Angelo added: “It’s important to point out that Trump is not the first GOP Republican candidate to say he supports nondiscrimination protections for LGBT individuals.” Angelo was referring to former presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who said he didn’t think people should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. “Period. Over and out,” Bush said.[14]
    • In an interview with The Brody File on April 12, 2011, Trump was asked whether he supported civil unions. Trump replied, “First of all, I live in New York. I know many, many gay people. Tremendous people. And to be honest with you, as far as civil unions are concerned, I haven't totally formed my opinion. But there can be no discrimination against gays.”[15]
    • In his 2000 political manifesto, “The America That We Deserve,” Trump outlined his dream of an America free of “racism, discrimination against women, or discrimination against people based on sexual orientation.”[16]

    Recent news

    The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Donald Trump Gay Rights LGBTQ LGBT. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

    Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016/LGBTQ rights - Google News

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Donald Trump Enters 2016 Presidential Race," June 16, 2015
    2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named trump
    3. ↑ The Washington Post, "Are Democrats leaning into the transgender debate?" May 13, 2016
    4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named huff
    5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named marriage
    6. ↑ The Des Moines Register, "Trump says he would play in Iowa, aides to visit Monday," March 3, 2011
    7. ↑ CNN, "Donald Trump on CNN's State of the Union: 'I'm in it to win it...I will make our country great again'," June 28, 2015
    8. ↑ Twitter, "Donald Trump," June 26, 2015
    9. ↑ BuzzFeed, "Feds Ask Court To Halt North Carolina’s Anti-Trans “Bathroom Bill” Provision," July 5, 2016
    10. ↑ The News & Observer, "Backstage with Donald Trump before his Raleigh speech," July 5, 2016
    11. ↑ Uproxx.com, "Donald Trump Backpedals On His LGBT Bathroom Stance During His ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Appearance," May 26, 2016
    12. ↑ The Huffington Post, "Donald Trump Shifts Position On North Carolina Bathroom Bill," April 22, 2016
    13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Politico, "Trump: Transgender people can use whatever bathroom they want," April 21, 2016
    14. ↑ Huffington Post, “Donald Trump Was Once Sued By Justice Department For Not Renting To Blacks,” April 29, 2011
    15. ↑ Human Rights Campaign, “Donald Trump: Opposes Nationwide Marriage Equality,” accessed April 6, 2016
    16. ↑ MSNBC, “Is Donald Trump 2016’s most LGBT-friendly Republican?” August 17, 2015
    17. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    18. ↑ Republican Party, "The 2016 Republican Party Platform," accessed August 23, 2016
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