In an impassioned speech Saturday, Hillary Clinton laid into the Trump administration for its stance on LGBTQ rights, acknowledging that “tough battles” lie ahead for the queer community and other minority groups.
The former presidential nominee, who turned 70 on Oct. 26, blasted President Donald Trump’s decision to ban transgender service members from the U.S. military, as well as his silence on global LGBTQ rights issues, while speaking at the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) annual gala in Washington, D.C.
“I was outraged when I read, on Twitter of all places, that the president wanted to ban transgender people from serving in the military. You know, and he knows, transgender people have fought and died for this country from our very beginning,” Clinton told the crowd, which included the likes of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. “They are serving in uniform with distinction right now, and the suggestion that transgender Americans are unfit to serve is insulting and wrong.”
She also lamented reports of anti-LGBTQ persecution in Egypt and the Russian republic of Chechnya, noting in her speech that such incidents should “really alarm every American.” The speech can be viewed above.
“The attacks on the LGBT community here at home and around the world are striking and scary,” Clinton said. “I can only imagine what it’s like to be in the position that so many people still find themselves in in our country. I do know what it feels like to be torn down and attacked, and I want you to know that I’m with you.”
“It’s just wrong that in 2017,” she continued, “you can lose your job, lose your home or, if this administration gets its way, be denied a wedding cake simply because of who you are and who you love.”
Later, she offered a zing at Fox News, joking that the conservative network seems to think that she lives in the White House “because they spend a disproportionate amount of time talking about impeaching me.”
“Look, if they want to make a trade, I’d be more than willing,” she quipped.
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