“It’s not just about gays and lesbians. It’s about the communities that care about equality,” Moran said. “And, again, suburban women, youth voters — these are core constituencies of the 2024 election cycle. We don’t just have to pander and run to gays.”
Still, Moran and other event organizers said they believe Trump could secure up to 50% of gay voters in the upcoming election, without providing figures explaining their reasoning. Millions of American adults identify as lesbian or gay, according to Gallup.
In a Human Rights Campaign poll conducted in August, 74% of LGBTQ voters say they plan to or are leaning toward voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, 7.5% for Trump and the remainder for third party write-ins.
Brandon Wolf, a spokesperson for the advocacy group, which has endorsed and is fundraising for Harris, denounced the Trump UNITY events and accused the former president of leading “the most anti-LGBTQ+ administration in history.”
“Some people really like proximity to power, and Donald Trump is someone who peddles power in exchange for things constantly,” Wolf said. “It’s unfortunate that you have groups like the Log Cabin Republicans who are willing to sell out the community in exchange to be able to cozy up to someone like Donald Trump.”
As president, Trump banned transgender Americans from enlisting in the U.S. military. His administration also ended some discrimination protections for LGBTQ people in school and in health care settings. Both policies were reversed during the Biden administration.
If elected again, Trump has vowed to reinstate his former policy barring trans people from enlisting in the military, to abolish gender-affirming care for transgender minors — which he equated to “child abuse” and “child sexual mutilation” — and to roll back Title IX protections for transgender students “on Day One.” In recent weeks, he has also repeated false claims that students are undergoing transition-related surgeries during the school day. His campaign has aired ads in recent weeks slamming Vice President Kamala Harris’ prior support for inmates receiving transition-related medical care in federal prisons.
