
The U.S. embassies in Israel, Germany, Brazil and Latvia requested permission from Trump‘s State Department to fly the rainbow pride flag on their flagpoles. The Trump administration said no, according to three American diplomats who spoke to NBC News.
So much for Trump’s claim to be a supporter of LGBTQ rights overseas. His administration announced a campaign to decriminalize homosexuality overseas and this month they issued a tweet to,
“Celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made.”
The denial to the U.S. Embassy in Berlin is particularly upsetting because the ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, is spearheading an administration push to end the criminalization of homosexuality in roughly 70 countries that still outlaw it. Grenell, the most senior openly gay person in Trump’s administration, has secured support for that campaign from both Trump and VP Mike Pence.
Grenell said to NBC News.
“The President’s recognition of Pride Month and his tweet encouraging our decriminalization campaign gives me even more pride to once again march in the Berlin Pride parade, hang a huge banner on the side of the Embassy recognizing our pride, host multiple events at the Embassy and the residence, and fly the gay pride flag.”
During the Obama administration, the government granted blanket permission to embassies overseas to fly the pride flag during June. Under rump this year embassies were told they can display the pride flag in other places, including inside embassies, but that requests to fly it on the flagpole must be specifically approved.
No approvals have been granted.
Trump made history last night. MSM wants to pretend it didn't happen. He's the most pro-LGBT Pres candidate ever nominated by either party pic.twitter.com/tH1fXcKNIp
— Chris Barron (@ChrisRBarron) October 31, 2016
Photos, Wikimedia Commons; via NBC News)