On the eve of signing a controversial โ religious freedomโ executive order, President Donald Trump spent time with a right wing pastor who has vehemently opposed LGBTQ rights.
Trumpโs social media director Dan Scavino Jr. tweeted a photo of the president posing happily with Pastor Robert Jeffress in the Oval Office on Tuesday. Jeffress, who is a senior pastor at Texasโs First Baptist Dallas church, made headlines in 2012 for comparing gay people to pedophiles, and was criticized by former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on the campaign trial for being extreme.
Also on Tuesday, Jeffress shared a snapshot of himself beside former President Ronald Reaganโs official White House portrait...
...and followed it up Thursday with another shot of him with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
The pastorโs rigidly conservative views, particularly those that pertain to LGBTQ rights, have repeatedly been the source of controversy. โThere are a disproportionate amount of assaults against children by homosexuals than by heterosexuals โ you canโt deny that,โ he said in a 2012 installment of his โPathway To Victoryโ radio program, according to the Dallas Observer. โThe reason is very clear: homosexuality is perverse, it represents a degradation of a personโs mind and if a person will sink that low and there are no restraints from Godโs law, then there is no telling to whatever sins he will commit as well.โ
He also urged his congregants to visit Chick-fil-A after the president and CEO of the fast food chain spoke out against same-sex marriage in 2012. โThis is not about bashing gays,โ he said at the time. โThis is about Americans and Christians standing up and saying, โEnough is enough.โโ
News of Trumpโs meeting with Jeffress came as some LGBTQ rights advocates were expressing relief that the presidentโs โreligious freedomโ executive order didnโt target the queer community in any specific way, despite earlier reports. Ultimately, the meeting is yet another reminder that LGBTQ voters have plenty of reason to doubt Trumpโs vow to be a โpresident for all Americans.โ The presidentโs choice to be the next Army secretary is Tennessee state Sen. Mark Green (R), who has said that opposing transgender equality efforts is key to his plan to โcrush evil.โ
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