Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended a controversial video Wednesday that went after former President Donald Trump for LGBTQ rights and was shared by his campaign.
«Identifying Donald Trump as really a pioneer in injecting gender ideology into the mainstream, where he had men compete against women in his beauty pageants, I think that’s totally fair game, because now he’s campaigning saying what contrary,” DeSantis told a conservative commentator. Tomi Lahren in an interview for her broadcast show «Tomi Lahren is Fearless».
They were his first public comments on the video.
“A desperate DeSanctus campaign, with a fluttering candidate, in his last throes of relevance,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said when asked by DeSantis, one of his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. comment on comments.
The video, shared on Twitter by the DeSantis campaign’s rapid response arm on Friday, attacks Trump from the right and portrays him as a champion of LGBTQ rights. He features a clip of Trump saying that he would «do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens.» in a speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention, which took place shortly after the mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando in DeSantis’ own state, and shows photos of Trump with Caitlyn Jenner, the prominent trans Olympian-turned-celebrity.
The second part of the video attempts to portray DeSantis as a more masculine figure, showing headlines for his actions that restrict LGBTQ rights, accompanied by upbeat music and photos of muscular men.
Jenner made her disapproval clear in a reply to post on Twitter, writing Saturday morning: “DeSantis has hit a new low. But he is so desperate that he will do anything to get ahead, that has been the theme of his campaign ”.
The video has drawn criticism, and some ridicule, from across the political spectrum.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN on Sunday that he «would put aside the weirdness of trying to prove your manhood by putting on a video that splices together images of you among oiled up, shirtless bodybuilders.»
Ric Grenell, a former Trump administration official who is gay, described the video as «undeniably homophobic» on Twitter just hours after the campaign shared it.
Log Cabin Republicans, an organization of LGBTQ Republicans, criticized DeSantis, write on twitter that it has «ventured into homophobic territory.» He added that DeSantis «has alienated younger and swing state voters.»
DeSantis has been outspoken in his drive to restrict LGBTQ rights. Last year, she signed into law legislation banning discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in public school classrooms until the third grade, which critics have dubbed the «Don’t Say Gay» law. In May, the signed another bill ban transgender people from using public restrooms that match their gender identities and ban gender-affirming care for minors.
During his presidency, LGBTQ rights advocates also frequently criticized Trump for some of his policies, including banning transgender people from the military, removing Title IX Protections for Transgender Students and ban US embassies from flying Pride flags during LGBTQ Pride Month.