Two Miles Away From Pulse, Trump Fails to Mention Massacre of LGBTQ People in Campaign Launch Speech

by HRC staff

Post submitted by Lucas Acosta (he/him), former Deputy Director of Communications, Politics

Donald Trump stood two miles and a 10-minute drive away from the site of the Pulse nightclub shooting but refused to even mention the 49 LGBTQ lives, most Latinx, taken by senseless gun violence.

In his campaign launch speech, Donald Trump stood two miles and a 10-minute drive away from the site of the Pulse nightclub shooting but refused to even mention the 49 LGBTQ lives, most Latinx, taken by senseless gun violence. This omission comes less than one week after Orlando, the LGBTQ community, the Latinx community and the world marked the third year since Pulse without any substantive action on gun reform. In fact, despite multiple trips to Orlando since taking office, Trump nor Pence have ever visited Pulse.

“Trump’s refusal to even acknowledge Pulse or LGBTQ people less than 10 minutes away from the site of the massacre is shameful, but unfortunately not surprising after the NRA spent a record amount on his behalf in 2016,” said HRC National Press Secretary for Campaigns Lucas Acosta. “Throughout their tenure in office, the Trump-Pence administration has taken any and every opportunity to attack LGBTQ people and our rights. But we won’t stand idly by and allow this assault to continue. In 2020, HRC will mobilize the over 10 million LGBTQ voters and 52 million Equality Voters to defeat Donald Trump and elect a pro-equality President who will pass the Equality Act and take our community forward.”