Trump’s LGBTQ+ Record Touted on Bizarre Ads in Iowa

Iowans are receiving mailers promoting the same message as the controversial anti-LGBTQ+ video that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently promoted. It was so homophobic that it caused Gays Against Groomers, DeSantis’s most supportive anti-trans hate group, to fracture.

According to Iowa political blog Bleeding Heartland, a mailer appears to promote former President Donald Trump as a champion of marriage equality and trans rights. Trump is neither and has a history of anti-LGBTQ+ policy positions during his presidency and since.

The Iowa mailers was paid for by Advancing Our Values.

Accentuated by an underline in rainbow colors, the message “Thank you, President Trump” appears alongside a banner in the transgender Pride flag colors calling Trump “a transgender trailblazer,” the website reports.

A Politico article referenced in the mailer describes how Trump received a standing ovation from the conservative gay group, the Log Cabin Republicans, for “delivering an enthusiastic affirmation of gay rights not often heard in the GOP.”

Iowa is one of the conservative states with a solid Evangelical Christian population, which historically has not been friendly to LGBTQ+ issues.

DeSantis War Room tweeted a video last month mocking Trump for supporting the LGBTQ+ community after the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.

DeSantis’ anti-LGBTQ+, especially anti-trans, policy proposals and laws that he signed are celebrated for stifling the rights of queer Floridians. There were also homoerotic images of shirtless men with defined muscles and clips of the American Psycho, which features actor Christian Bale as a serial killer. There is also a clip of Brad Pitt as Achilles — who many note had a male lover in the Illiad.

The Log Cabin Republicans, the largest queer GOP group in the U.S., and others criticized DeSantis’ video for its homophobia.

DeSantis, however, defended the video in an interview, saying Trump’s past support of trans women competing in the Miss Universe pageant rendered it “totally fair game.”

In response to outrage, the original account deleted the video a week after posting it.

The non-profit organization behind the Iowa advertisement was established on June 27, according to Bleeding Heartland. As far as funding and political affiliation are concerned, neither was available.