ABOVE: Donald Trump. Photo by Michael Vadon via Flickr.
Former President Trump, in an interview published April 7 where he stood by false claims about having won the 2020 election, said he thinks Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signing into law the “Don’t Say Gay” bill was a “good move,” according to the Washington Post.
Trump was quoted as saying in the interview with the Washington Post’s Josh Dawsey he agrees with DeSantis in signing the measure, which vaguely prohibits “instruction” on LGBTQ issues in grades K-3 and more generally “not age-appropriate” settings.
“I do think it was a good move,” he said, although he declined to elaborate, according to Washington Post.
Trump made the reported remarks in the context about discussion about a possible contest between DeSantis and Trump in the Republican primary for the 2024 presidential election, as well as other possible challenges from former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Vice President Mike Pence. Trump, however, threw cold water on the prospects of any of them challenging him.
“If I ran, I can’t imagine they’d want to run,” Trump was quoted as saying. “Some out of loyalty would have had a hard time running. I think that most of those people, and almost every name you mentioned, is there because of me.”
Trump, whose administration was criticized for anti-LGBTQ as defenders called him the first Republican president to be a gay ally, essentially endorses the “Don’t Say Gay” measure despite a segment of LGBTQ community reliability supporting him as conservatives.
In December, Trump with former first lady Melania Trump attended the Log Cabin Republican annual dinner, which last year took place at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Log Cabin Republicans has come out in support of the “Don’t Say Gay” measure.
Proponents of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill have defended the measure by erroneously saying it simply prohibits sex education for K-3 children or would only prohibit school curriculum on sexual orientation or gender identity, even though there’s no limiting principle in the measure restricting its reach. The first lawsuit was filed against the “Don’t Say Gay” measure last week and remains pending in federal court in Florida.
