Source: Politics<\/p>\n
PALM BEACH, Fla. \u2014 Hundreds of guests in tuxedos of all styles \u2014 sequined, quilted, velvet \u2014 and colorful gowns sipped on Trump-branded champagne and martinis. Between courses of steak and bite-sized Key lime pie, they danced to \u201cYMCA\u201d and \u201cMacho Man,\u201d the disco anthems at Trump rallies.<\/p>\n
Thursday night\u2019s Log Cabin Republicans\u2019 \u201cSpirit of Lincoln\u201d gala in the main ballroom of Donald Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago beachfront club was a joyous celebration of gay rights and \u2014 in a case of ironic timing \u2014 the historic same-sex marriage law signed by President Joe Biden days earlier.<\/p>\n
The long-planned event in honor of the conservative LGBTQ organization\u2019s 45th anniversary brought in Republican notables like former Ambassador Ric Grenell, Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus, who emceed the evening in a feathered turquoise gown, and former GOP gubernatorial candidate from Arizona Kari Lake, who was swarmed by guests eager to meet her and take a photo.<\/p>\n
But the main attraction, obviously, was Trump. He received a standing ovation after delivering an enthusiastic affirmation of gay rights not often heard in the GOP.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are fighting for the gay community, and we are fighting and fighting hard,\u201d the former president and 2024 candidate said. \u201cWith the help of many of the people here tonight in recent years, our movement has taken incredible strides, the strides you\u2019ve made here is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout the evening, speakers praised Trump for his embrace of the gay community. They credited him for his initiatives to combat the criminalization of homosexuality, his work pushing for public heath initiatives to combat the HIV epidemic, and for appointing the first openly gay Cabinet member, Grenell, as director of national intelligence.<\/p>\n
Trump and his administration had a mixed record on LGBTQ issues. He\u2019s been criticized for driving a wedge between gay and transgender communities, and for promoting extreme religious liberty policies and executive orders they say<\/a> allowed for discrimination against LGBTQ people that pushed the movement backwards. The Log Cabin Republicans\u2019 first female executive director, Jerri Ann Henry, resigned in 2019 over the group\u2019s decision to endorse Trump.<\/p>\n The Log Cabin Republicans’ gala came just days after the Respect for Marriage Act was passed with support of 39 House Republicans and 12 GOP senators and signed into law by Biden. But the issue of same-sex marriage has continued to spark debate inside the GOP. Conservative Christian and right-wing groups lobbied against the legislation, arguing that it stepped on religious liberties.<\/p>\n