This is not a Trump supporter (screen capture via iStockPhoto)
In an effort to boost Donald Trump’s standing with certain demographics (like women, Hispanics and younger voters), the Trump campaign has produced video endorsements now running on Facebook and Google.
One, for example, gives us “Tracey,” a young blond woman, walking down the beach, while a voiceover (which a viewer would assume is Tracey) says, “President Trump is doing a great job. I could not ask for a better president of the United States of American.”
But here’s the thing: “Tracey” is actually a stock video clip anyone can buy at iStockPhoto.com.
(click image to enlarge)
Anyone watching the campaign ad would assume “Tracey” is a real Trump supporter.
This is literally “fake news.”
There is a disclaimer on the campaign ad – “Actor portrayal. Actual testimonial” – but the disclaimer only shows for a brief period and is in a tiny font size.
There are additional videos featuring a young, bearded hipster and a Hispanic man.
The Trump campaign wants you to believe these stock footage models are MAGA supporters pic.twitter.com/SM916mGW3b
The Washington Postreports the National Park Service is moving almost $2.5 million, earmarked for improvements to parks across the country, to be used in accommodating Donald Trump’s July 4 campaign rally “Salute to America” event in Washington, D.C.
The diverted park fees represent just a fraction of the extra costs the government faces as a result of the event, which will include displays of military hardware, flyovers by an array of jets including Air Force One, the deployment of tanks on the Mall and an extended pyrotechnics show.
By comparison, according to former Park Service deputy director Denis P. Galvin, the entire Fourth of July celebration on the Mall typically costs the agency about $2 million.
Bolding is mine.
Trump tweeted today that the cost of his ‘ego rally’ will be “very little.”
The Donald says we already own the planes, pay the pilots and the airport is so close, the only real cost is the jet fuel.
The cost of our great Salute to America tomorrow will be very little compared to what it is worth. We own the planes, we have the pilots, the airport is right next door (Andrews), all we need is the fuel. We own the tanks and all. Fireworks are donated by two of the greats. Nice!
Democratic lawmakers have objected to Trump’s ‘take-over’ of the annual Independence Day celebration saying he’s turning the event into a campaign rally.
The Republican National Committee has confirmed that it has received, and is handing out, VIP tickets to their donors and political appointees.
The Democratic National Committee has not received any tickets or passes of any kind.
According to the Post, Trump still owes the District of Columbia $7 million for his January 2017 inauguration.
A man in Washington D.C. was caught on video walking into a resident’s front yard and ripping down a rainbow Pride flag, all while yelling homophobic slurs.
The 30-second security camera video shows the man walking down the sidewalk, seemingly talking to himself. In the clip’s audio, he can be heard shouting, “F*gg*t motherf**ker, you f*gg*t flag-flying motherf**ker.”
Clear as day, the man enters the yard, striding right up to the flag and snatching it from its mount.
Continuing to rant, the man attempts to destroy the flag slamming it on the ground before exiting the scene.
Twitter user @mjasonrhoades posted the clip to his account as well as the local D.C. community blog, Popville.
“This happened in broad daylight at our house on Independence at 17th St SE this morning while my wife was walking our dog,” wrote the Twitter user. “People like this should not be on our streets.”
The Washington Blade reports that D.C. police have seen the video but haven’t been able to contact the resident.
“We saw the Popville post as well and have attempted to make contact with and have the property owner make a report,” said D.C. Police Lt. Brett Parson, who oversees the department’s LGBT Liaison Unit. “They were encouraged to contact the LGBT Liaison Unit Duty Phone or call 911.”
“We stand ready to respond, investigate, and provide support,” added Parson.
Watch the report from the Washington NBC News affiliate below.
New polling shows how the first Democratic presidential debates affected the early race.
The latest from Quinnipiac University polling shows former Vice President Joe Biden getting his lowest numbers to date dropping to 22 percent.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) jumped up to second place with 20 percent support.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren follows at 14 percent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is at 13 percent, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg gets 4 percent. No other candidate garnered more than 3 percent.
The June 11 Quinnipiac University Poll showed Biden at 30 percent, Sanders at 19 percent, Warren with 15 percent, Buttigieg at 8 percent, and Harris with 7 percent.
And in Iowa, Elizabeth Warren has vaulted to the number one position in the new David Binder Research poll.
Elizabeth Warren leads the pack in the Iowa Caucus, according to a new poll out this morning from David Binder Research, currently earning the support of 20% of likely Democratic caucus-goers.
Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are both within the margin of error with Warren for first place, but they trail just slightly at 18% for Harris and 17% for Biden.
Bernie Sanders has fallen to fourth place in the polling, sitting at 12%, while Pete Buttigieg has 10% in the survey.
Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker round out the the field with 4% and 2%, respectively, while everyone else is at 1% or below.
Democratic White House contender Pete Buttigieg gave Lil Nas X props for “standing in his truth” after the country-rap artist came out on the last day of Pride month.
“@LilNasX has gone from viral sensation to groundbreaking musician. As a fan, I’m thrilled and inspired to see him standing in his truth as a member of the LGBTQ community. Welcome to the family,” tweeted Mayor Pete.
.@LilNasX has gone from viral sensation to groundbreaking musician. As a fan, I’m thrilled and inspired to see him standing in his truth as a member of the LGBTQ community. Welcome to the family! #pridehttps://t.co/H81iXxCII6
It’s been a great week for the 20-year-old as his hit, “Old Town Road,” became only the 12th song in the history of Billboard’s Hot 100 to stay at number one for 13 weeks or longer.
And more celebs praised the artist on social media as well:
Fuck! Coming OUT proud when you’re at the Top of the rap Game!!! Do you guys realize how monumental this is?!?! It’s a whole new world now when being gay is an asset! unheard of. So proud of @LilNasX & all #LGBTQA Heroes that changed the world for everyone ❤️🏳️🌈 #pride@glaadhttps://t.co/4065PxqHUd
• Yesterday’s Round-Up hottie got a great reaction, but even better, Twitter user The Scruff Post discovered the hottie is fashion designer, Daniel Sheehan (above). #BookmarkThatInstagram #Woof
• New York Times: A group of LGBT-supportive Republicans have filed a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in favor of LGBT workplace protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The brief is reportedly tailored to resonate with the five conservative justices on the high court.
• AdAge: Advertising company FCB announced that it will not renew its contract with Nivea after reports that the skin care brand rejected a pitch showing two men’s hands touching. An executive allegedly told the ad company, “We don’t do gay at Nivea.”
• Washington Post: After haters used a social media campaign to force the cancellation of a Story Book Pride Prom in Jacksonville, Florida, a local church stepped in and held the prom Friday. The decision to host the prom was unanimously supported by the church’s board, and the event culminated in “happy teens, grateful parents, and a lot of community support.”
• Woofy Matthew Camp shares this colorful tease of his sex-positive docs-series, Camp Chaos:
Deputy White House press secretary Judd Deere (images via Instagram)
Openly gay Judd Deere lives in Washington, D.C. He has a boyfriend, attended DC Pride, and currently serves in the Trump White House as Deputy Press Secretary.
Tasked with touting Donald Trump’s policies – including those that erode LGBTQ progress – Deere recently told Buzzfeed News he doesn’t care what the LGBTQ community thinks of him. He says his rise in the Trump administration is proof Trump isn’t homophobic.
“I’m completely open about who I am,” Deere told Buzzfeed. “These individuals that I work with in this building don’t treat me any differently because I’m gay.”
But, there is a caveat to that statement as Deere admits he doesn’t “walk into the White House every day and say, ‘I’m Judd Deere; I’m gay.’”
Adding that the president “doesn’t treat me any different” because he’s gay, Deere cops to not knowing if Trump even knows he identifies as gay.
Like former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Deere is originally from Arkansas.
He previously worked for the state’s Attorney General which fought against listing both same-sex parents on a child’s birth certificate. Striking down Fayetteville’s LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinance was also on the menu during his time there.
“I focused on hiring the very best people, and that’s why I hired Judd,” wrote Sanders, in an email to Buzzfeed. “I am proud to have him on our team to help on LGBT issues as well as the many others in his portfolio.”
(image via Instagram/JuddPDeere)
Speaking of ‘helping on LGBT issues,’ Deere says he has no problem with the Trump administration’s policies regarding the community.
His position is that none of the controversial, news-making policies are really discriminatory.
On whether a baker can turn away a same-sex couple looking for a wedding cake?
“Yeah, that’s fine,” says Deere. “I’ll just go find another cake shop that will.”
Trump’s ban on transgender military service members, Deere says trans soldiers “erode military readiness,” and adds that the ban was “developed through extensive studies within the military by senior military officials.”
Not true – Trump’s own generals have publicly shared they were surprised by the July 2017 tweets announcing the ban.
When it comes to allowing healthcare providers to deny treatment to LGBTQ people based on ‘sincerely held religious beliefs,’ Deere (towing the administration line) says Trump is protecting ‘conscience rights.’
Buzzfeed’s Dominic Holden asked Deere what Trump has done for LGBTQ Americans, and Deere points to the president’s promise to end the HIV epidemic by 2030, as well as launching a “global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality.”
Across the board, though, Deere maintains that any notion the Trump administration is anti-LGBTQ is “just a smear campaign.”
And when it comes to how he himself might be perceived after agreeing to the Buzzfeedinterview, the deputy press secretary is unfazed.
“I don’t go into a dark depression because somebody hates the person I work for, or wants to get upset at me because they think I’m crazy for working here, because it just doesn’t matter to me,” said Deere.
The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for October 8 on whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies in banning LGBTQ discrimination.
There will be three cases regarding Title VII heard that day. The crux of the cases concerns whether anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination.
LGBTQ advocates say discrimination against gay people is sex discrimination because anti-gay bias is borne out of opposition to people who love others of the same sex.
A brief filed by the ACLU last week read, in part, “Firing a man because he is attracted to other men is like refusing to hire a woman because she has school-age children, failing to promote a woman because she is too ‘macho,’ or countenancing the sexual harassment of a man who is perceived by his coworkers to be vulnerable.”
Some court watchers say they are not overly-hopeful for a pro-LGBTQ ruling in light of Donald Trump’s choices for far-right leaning justices on the high court.
But Chief Justice John Roberts has, at times, surprised the LGBTQ community.
During arguments for the Obergefell decision in 2015, which made marriage equality the law of the land, Roberts made comments wondering if banning same-sex marriage would constitute a kind of sex discrimination.
The list of companies includes big tech like Facebook, Apple and Adobe; food giants like Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Domino’s Pizza; also Uber, Zillow, MGM Resorts, Hilton, HSBC Bank and more.
The Human Rights Campaign reports the amicus brief has the largest number of business signers than any other brief filed in an LGBTQ discrimination case.
The brief reads, in part, “Even where companies voluntarily implement policies to prohibit sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination, such policies are not a substitute for the force of law.”
“Only a uniform federal rule can enable businesses to recruit and retain, and employees to perform, at their highest levels,” says the brief.
The brief was organized by several LGBTQ advocacy groups including the Human Rights Campaign, Out & Equal, Freedom for All Americans and Lambda Legal.
The organizers of Boston’s so-called “Straight Pride Parade” say that they were targeted with “suspicious packages in the mail” that ended up containing… Glitter!
In early June, an organization called Super Happy Fun America, which says it is “committed to creating spaces for people of all identities to embrace the vibrancy of the straight community,” announced their event.
Their mission statement declares, “We believe that true diversity is only possible when people of all sexual orientations are free to celebrate their lifestyles.”
The city of Boston approved the group’s ‘Straight Pride’ event application after Super Happy Fun America threatened to sue.
One of the main organizers, Samson Racioppi, told CNN he found an envelope in his mailbox on Monday.
“I went out to my mailbox and there was an envelope in there with my name and address, no return address, the back was very heavily taped up and when I shook it I heard stuff shaking around inside,” Racioppi told CNN.
After calling authorities, a hazmat team evacuated his neighbors homes and closed traffic down his street.
Racioppi reached out to his co-organizers, including Mark Sahady, Vice President of Super Happy Fun America.
Sahady found a similar package at his home. He described the contents as a “sand-like substance.”
But when the envelope was examined by experts, the contents were revealed to be glitter and a hand-written note.
Glitter, folks. Glitter.
Kristen Setera, a spokesman for the FBI, told CNN the bureau does not believe the packages (of glitter) “pose a threat to public safety” but the investigation is ongoing.
Folks in the LGBTQ media have called the idea of the parade, tentatively scheduled for August 31, homophobic.
Super Happy Fun America’s president, John Hugo, dismisses the criticism saying the event is “not anti-gay but pro-straight.”
“Straight people are an oppressed majority,” states on the group’s official website. “We will fight for the right of straights everywhere to express pride in themselves without fear of judgement and hate.”
Because the 4.5 percent of the U.S. population that is estimated to be LGBTQ are ‘oppressing’ the other 95 percent. Uh-huh. Controversial homocon Milo Yiannopolous is scheduled to be the grand marshal for the event that’s predicted to draw 2,000 participants.
