In an interview for Axios on HBO, Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei asks Donald Trump Jr. about his father’s hiring and firing of high-level cabinet members and then making derogatory remarks about them later. Some of those comments include: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: “Dumb as a rock.” Secretary of Defense James Mattis: “World’s most overrated general” Attorney General Jeff Sessions: “Weak… scared stiff… mixed up and confused.” Steve Bannon: “Sloppy man who cried like a little dog.” Junior says his dad is “getting there.” “You have a guy that functioned as a businessman for a long time. It’s an entirely new world. I think now he’s figuring that out.”
Donald Trump Jr. Donald Trump Jr. got some serious pushback on Twitter after a snarky response to a tweet from an LGBTQ news site regarding dating people with HIV. Responding to a tweet that read, “What you stand to lose by not having sex with people with HIV,” the junior Donald wrote, “Well I can think of one thing.” Junior didn’t expound on his intention in his comment, although it is surprising he follows LGBTQ news outlets on Twitter. But many felt his tweet furthered the stigma associated with people living with HIV. Ironically, the article in question, by writer David Hudson, explored exactly that kind of discrimination and stigma that affects those who are living with HIV. “If someone is HIV positive, knows their status, is on effective medication and has consistently had an undetectable viral load, they cannot pass on the virus,” Hudson shared in the piece. “PrEP is also widely available in the US and several other countries to prevent people from acquiring HIV. And condoms are also, of course, widely available.” As I’ve written many times here, current research shows there is no risk of transmitting the HIV virus to others when properly using antiretroviral medications to bring the viral load down to zero, aka ‘undetectable.’ The Centers for Disease Control has publicly announced its support for the campaign that states Undetectable = Untransmittable. Additionally, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and condoms greatly reduce the possibility of HIV infection. The Twitterverse criticized Trump Jr. for reinforcing outdated HIV stigma:
I’m not going to retweet Donald Trump Jr’s trash opinions, but for the people in the back: You can have sex with an HIV+ person and not contract HIV. People who are undetectable cannot transmit HIV. Also, google PREP and condoms.
When the world has come so far in combatting stigma around HIV – and it now impossible to pass on HIV when one is on treatment – this comment is stunningly retrograde and dangerous https://t.co/FzdQ4b5Q4S
you pile of stale shit. Tweeting anti-science stigma flared nonsense just DAYS before World AIDS Day. I truly think there’s a special place in hell waiting for you.
We’re days away from the 31st WORLD AIDS DAY and the President’s son is typing anti-science stigma inducing bull shit. There’s a special place in hell waiting for you junior. https://t.co/nbknNdApRB
Your comment is 100% part of the problem by strengthening Stigma which the entire world, the entire world, is rallying to destroy because it is literally possible, within our lifetime, to end HIV/AIDS. This ignorant drivel is all you have to offer? You’re on the wrong side.
HIV-positive men are twice as likely to die by suicide than members of the general population.@DonaldJTrumpJr, you are ADDING to the stigma of living with HIV with your IGNORANT comments. To quote the POPULAR winner of the 2016 election, “DEPLORABLE”.💔https://t.co/VNT6SeYmzC
(photo: Tibo Norman) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Joel Green (above), photographed by Tibo Norman, is definitely giving off some super-hero vibes a la The CW. • The Hill: A new poll shows that 66% of Republicans believe adoption groups should not be able to turn away LGBTQ parents, compared to 75% of Democrats and 73% of independents. Overall, 72% say adoption agencies should not be allowed to deny service to members of the LGBTQ community, while 29 percent disagreed. • NBC News: A Florida jury has awarded a gay man more than $157 million in a wrongful death lawsuit after his husband died from lung cancer caused by smoking cigarettes, in what an attorney said is the first such case involving a same-sex married couple. • Raw Story: The Republican National Committee admits to buying nearly $100,000 worth of Donald Trump Jr.’s new book just days before it was released. When the tome landed on the NY Times Bestseller list, it received a connotation that ‘bulk purchases’ were involved in the sales numbers. NY Times reporter Nick Confessore confirmed the bulk purchase today with the RNC today.
New FEC disclosures show a single large RNC payment of $94,800 to Books-a-Million in October, a few days before “Triggered” was released. An RNC spokesman confirmed that the expenditure was connected to their promotion of Don Trump Jr.’s book. pic.twitter.com/vsmmsgrYCp
• CNN: Democrats are anticipating a busy December that will be filed with proceedings before the House Judiciary Committee, including public hearings and a markup, and a likely vote to impeach Trump on the House floor by Christmas Day, according to multiple Democratic sources. • HuffPost: Donald Trump traveled to Austin, Texas, on Wednesday to tour a manufacturing plant with Apple chief executive Tim Cook, touting the opening of a “new” facility that would bring high-paying jobs back to America. Except – the plant has been making Apple computers since 2013, long before Trump was elected. • Billboard: Randy Report favorite Randy Rainbow debuted at #1 this week on the Billboard Comedy chart with his new release, Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas!
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: I’m sorry, but ‘suited up for work’ Steve_in_LA (above) is just ridiculously handsome and photogenic. #dang • GLSEN: Jordan Steffy, who went viral over the weekend when video of him standing up to a high school bully hit Twitter, said during an appearance on Tamron Hall’s talk show he’s leaving the public school since the administrators have done nothing about his reports of being bullied. A 2018 study by GLSEN found that 20% of LGBTQ youth have switched schools at least once to escape bullying. • NY Times Bestsellers: Donald Trump Jr. is bragging about his book, Triggered, landing at number one on the NY Times Bestsellers list, but there’s a catch – see that little dagger symbol next to his listing? That indicates there were bulk purchases of the book. You know, like someone ordering tons of copies so the book lands at number one…?
One can never say for sure who — there’s a lot of strategic bulk-buying in publishing, especially political books — but *someone* (or someones) is doing bulk purchases of the new #1 NYT bestseller “Triggered.” pic.twitter.com/fpghtc5Yef
• Gaily Grind: A former Kentucky school principal who made national headlines for banning books with “homosexual content” from classrooms has been indicted on child pornography charges. Because of course… • OUT: There has never been a gay Black man in Congress, but Mondaire Jones is trying to change that. The lawyer, nonprofit leader, and activist announced his campaign to represent New York’s 17th Congressional District on Thursday. • Quisling Bootlicker: Gay conservative commentator and talk show host Dave Rubin invited Donald Trump Jr. to his show and told the president’s son that he’d be fine if Don Jr. called him a “fag.” Said Rubin, “All I ever wanted was exact equality under the law. That’s what we’ve got. Now we’re equal. You can call me whatever you want. You could call me a ‘fag’ right now and it wouldn’t mean anything to me.”
Donald Trump Jr. and his mistress Kimberly Guilfoyle (screen capture) The student body president of the University of Florida is facing possible impeachment for inviting Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle to the campus for speeches on October 10. Junior and Guilfoyle, a Trump campaign adviser, were reportedly paid a $50,000 fee for the appearance funded via student activity fees. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the law says public funds cannot be used to support political campaigns. Student body president Michael C. Murphy received a formal resolution for his impeachment Tuesday afternoon, which was signed by more than 100 students and alumni. This is only the second time in the university’s 115-year history a student body president has faced impeachment. The university’s student newspaper The Alligator reports that Murphy’s father, Dan Murphy, is a pro-Trump lobbyist in Washington, D.C. who has maxed out donations to Trump’s re-election campaign and has been photographed speaking to Trump Jr. in Washington. Michael Murphy didn’t answer questions related to his father’s involvement with the Trump campaign, nor with Trump Jr. He said there is “no conflict of interest.”
In an interview for Axios on HBO, Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei asks Donald Trump Jr. about his father’s hiring and firing of high-level cabinet members and then making derogatory remarks about them later. Some of those comments include: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: “Dumb as a rock.” Secretary of Defense James Mattis: “World’s most overrated general” Attorney General Jeff Sessions: “Weak… scared stiff… mixed up and confused.” Steve Bannon: “Sloppy man who cried like a little dog.” Junior says his dad is “getting there.” “You have a guy that functioned as a businessman for a long time. It’s an entirely new world. I think now he’s figuring that out.” 
Some news items you might have missed: • 