Melania Trump Blocked from Making Pride Month Gesture

First Lady Melania Trump was blocked from lighting up the White House in rainbow colours for LGBT+ Pride Month back in June, after Mark Meadows, as chief of staff, blocked any sign of solidarity with the LGBT+ community, according to two Republican sources familiar with her plans who spoke exclusively to the ‘Washington Blade’.

According to the source, Meadows had a significant role in ensuring the Trump White House ignored Pride Month, which is why President Trump didn’t send out a tweet to recognise the annual LGBT+ celebration as he did in 2019.

Had the first lady succeeded in lighting the White House in rainbow colours, it would have been the first time that occurred since the Obama administration lit up the building after the Supreme Court ruling for same-sex marriage in 2015. Such a move by Trump would have symbolised a tremendous change for the Republican Party, which has a long history of animosity toward LGBT+ people.

However, Melania Trump ended up signalling support for the LGBT+ community months later just before the election in a video for Outspoken, the media project for Log Cabin Republicans, in contrast to Meadows, who has publicly railed against same-sex marriage and built an anti-LGBT+ record in Congress as a member of the House Freedom Caucus.

The decision against lighting up the White House came at a time when many leaders in the LGBT+ community made the decision to cancel Pride Month parades and celebrations amid the coronavirus pandemic in recognition of dangers to public health and the rising death toll worldwide.

In the video Melania Trump made for Log Cabin Republicans just before Election Day, she insisted her husband supports gay people and blamed any perception Trump is anti-LGBTQ on the political establishment.

“I was shocked to discover that some of these powerful people have tried to paint my husband as anti-gay or against equality,” Melania Trump said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Donald loves helping people, and he loves seeing those around him and his country succeed.”

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