Is This Gay Couple Voting for Trump an Important Reminder?

An interview with two gay men at a Donald Trump rally is stirring a sense of horror that any queer person could back a candidate who opposes them and other minorities on so many issues. The couple's explanation for their votes, however, epitomizes a reason Trump thinks he can win: rust belt populism.

The couple was interviewed in Cincinnati, in swing state Ohio, by out Wall Street Journal reporter Jason Bellini. They claimed "a lot" of their gay friends support Trump, despite the obvious reasons an LGBT person might not.

Trump has said he wants to overturn marriage equality by appointing justices in the mold of Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court. He's also pledged to sign the First Amendment Defense Act, which activists call a federal version of "license to discriminate" bills pushed at the state level. And Trump has said he'd consider reinstating a ban on transgender people serving in the military.

The first man explained his Trump support as him being "tired of the bullshit government."

"I work in the steel industry," he added, "I see it hardcore with the trades and stuff. It's time for a change. Trump's the man for it."

"Plus, I really feel like he would bring more jobs to the country," added his boyfriend, "and everything would just be a hell of a lot better with Trump in office."

Trump continues make a targeted pitch the manufacturing sector. He rails against outsourcing, globalization, and trade deals (while also playing to xenophobia and blaming immigrants for taking manufacturing jobs). There are LGBT people who work in factories and in construction, just like there are LGBT people working as doctors, waiters, or actors. In a Bloomberg report, "Tracing Donald Trump's Rust-Belt Route," the Trump strategy of appealing to "the disaffected, currently Democratic, working-class white males" is plotted against its chances of winning. It's why Trump still is not giving up winning Pennsylvania, where he's behind in polls.

"There are plenty of reasons why Pennsylvania has been seen as swingier than in years past -- 41,767 reasons, to be precise," wrote Bloomberg in September. "That's the number of layoffs reported due to large plant closings across the state since the beginning of 2015--more than Michigan and Ohio combined."

Even the internet's (formerly) favorite undecided voter, Ken Bone, with his red sweater and easygoing manner, admitted that although he supports marriage equality, he's torn about voting for Trump because the Republican is viewed as better for the coal industry, in which he works.

"Donald Trump, he might have my economic interests more in mind, just from a personal level," Bone said in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. "He will help my coal-fired power industry probably more than Secretary Clinton and give me a lot of future for my wallet and my ability to take care of my family. But on the other hand, if he's allowed to appoint the next Supreme Court nominee, there is a very good chance that we could lose some of the rights that we've fought for for the last eight years, rights that all Americans should share, like marriage equality. And I do not want to see anyone's rights taken away."

Bone is weighing social issues against pocketbook issues in a way the gay couple at the Ohio rally is also likely calculating. "We're looking at a personal-interest versus a community-interest election," said Bone.

Watch the interview with the Ohio gay couple in video Bellini shared on Facebook: