Continue striving to secure half of the LGBT vote for Trump

Is it crazy to think that former President Donald Trump could win half the gay vote in November’s national election?

Not to Charles Moran, the president of Log Cabin Republicans, the preeminent Republican LGBT lobby.

“In 2020, we raised a low seven-figure fund to do the first-ever LGBT engagement campaign to engage gay voters for the Republican Party and the conservative movement,” he said. “We doubled the key vote for President Trump from 14% to 28% that year.” It was even higher, 33%, for Republican House and Senate candidates.

This year, Log Cabin Republicans, working with former first lady Melania Trump and key Trump-era gay officials, such as former acting intelligence czar Richard Grenell, are working to boost that support.

The gay vote in “2020 is our floor in 2024. So, we’re starting with 28%,” Moran told Secrets. “We’re within striking view of 50%. And just as we saw it doubling from 2016 to 2020, we want to push that level in 2024.”

It could be enough to turn the election. Eleven percent of voting-eligible people in the 2022 election were LGBT, according to the Census Bureau. And liberal gay groups such as the Human Rights Campaign expect 1 in 7 voters will be LGBT in just six years.

While Democrats sneer at talk that Trump deserves votes from gay people, many in the community said his support before the 2016 election and as president demonstrates he is not the enemy often described in the media.

Moran said that was made clear during the Republican National Convention in 2016, when Trump featured prominent gay businessman Peter Thiel’s onstage endorsement. Moran said Trump “made it OK for gays to be open” about being Republican.

Now, he said, it is time to remind voters about Trump’s support through a broad campaign that includes digital ads, get-out-the-vote walks, rallies, and ballot efforts.

Grenell, the first-ever gay man named to a Cabinet post and Trump’s first ambassador to Germany, will help Log Cabin Republicans lead that effort. Top Trump gay allies, including philanthropist Bill White and his activist husband Bryan Eure, are also major players and fundraisers.

Melania Trump helped to start the effort this month when she headlined a Log Cabin Republicans fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. The tickets were $10,000 each and sold out in 36 hours, and “hundreds” were turned away, White said. She is already planning a second event in New York City.

In comments from the private event provided to Secrets, Melania Trump did not push a gay-centric message but instead offered broader comments that would appeal to a larger community seeking inclusion and unity.

“I am proud to support the Log Cabin Republicans and appreciate the tireless dedication you have shown to advancing equality for the LGBT community and upholding our nation’s legacy of inclusivity. Your work is vital to the growth and success of the Republican Party. Tonight, as we gather to celebrate and enjoy each other’s company, let us remember the importance of unity, diversity, and a shared commitment to making our country a better place for all,” she said.

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White said that a broad message is likely to be attractive to suburban women voters eager to hear about unity and evidence of the former president’s caring side.

“If you look at suburban women who do care very much about how the LGBT community is treated and respected, I would say Trump sees Brian and I, he always hears us. He’s always listening, he’s always talking to us, and he loves us,” said White, who often found financial support from Trump for his veterans events in New York and while he was president of the New York Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

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