Trump Will Be First President to Address Anti-LGBT Values Voter Summit

Donald Trump will join a who's who of the religious right Friday at the Values Voter Summit, as he becomes the first sitting president to address the event, sponsored by the anti-LGBT Family Research Council.

Trump is scheduled to speak during Friday's opening plenary session, which runs from 8:45 a.m. to noon. "Values voters are coming to our nation's capital thankful to hear from a president who is fulfilling the promises that he campaigned on," FRC president Tony Perkins said in a press release this week. "Since the early days of the campaign, President Trump allied himself with values voters, promising to put an end to the eight years of relentless assault on the First Amendment."

Perkins praised the Trump administration's issuance last week of a "religious freedom" order, which is actually a broad license to discriminate in both the public and private sectors without repercussion. For instance, a company with a federal government contract could cite religious objections in refusing to hire LGBT people or members of different faiths without the contract being revoked. Federal employees could refuse to process paperwork for same-sex spouses' Social Security or veterans' benefits without facing discipline.

Perkins also lauded the granting of broad religious exemptions to the Affordable Care Act mandate for contraceptive coverage, allowing virtually any nonprofit or for-profit employer to opt out of the mandate by citing faith-based opposition. This and the religious liberty order show that Trump "is committed to undoing the anti-faith policies of the previous administration and restoring true religious freedom," Perkins said.

Trending stories

Joe Biden has tied the record for most LGBTQ+ judges confirmed in federal courts

Broadway bound: The best hotels in NYC’s Theater District for every type of traveler

French Polynesia doesn’t need Pride flags to earn its place on every LGBTQ+ bucket list

Discover the power of Wellness in your life

'Drag Race's Jasmine Kennedie shares harrowing story of being followed home by a man for being trans

Season 4 of The Switch on resilience & radical self-love returns this spring

Daring debuts! The first-ever movies by 11 LGBTQ+ filmmakers

Broadway's best raise over $1 million for LGBTQ+ and HIV causes

Betty Boop's real-life boyfriend is gay, gorgeous, and spreading joy on Broadway

Gerald Garth is keeping people of color happy and healthy through trying times

These Coachella 2025 moments prove week one of this festival was for the lesbians

College basketball star Sedona Prince goes undrafted; here's why WNBA fans are celebrating

Turn your Easter into the colors of the rainbow with these Pride-themed shortbread treats

All 6 rogue Mississippi cops got long prison sentences in 'Goon Squad' torture of 2 Black men

JoJo Siwa & Chris Hughes' flirty cuddles on 'Big Brother' leave fans very confused

How climate disasters hurt mental health in young people

500,000 Children at Risk: PEPFAR Funding Crisis

Here's how to watch Lady Gaga at Coachella & full livestream schedule

Ian McKellen makes 14-year-old boy's dream come true by starring in his LGBTQ+ film

Out and About with Karan Soni

Beyond Wonderland's accepting & unifying rave culture is needed more than ever

Elon Musk uses burner accounts on X, doesn’t fact-check: report

29 out & proud LGBTQ+ country artists you should be listening to

France becomes world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in constitution

Chris Colfer is showing off his sexy muscles in a new thirst trap

• 0
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8

Trump had spoken at the summit as a candidate in 2015 and 2016. The summit has been going on annually since 2006; The Advocate inquired if either George W. Bush or Barack Obama was ever invited to address the gathering but has yet to receive an answer from the FRC.

Others scheduled to speak at the opening plenary are former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka, current Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway, religious right activist brothers David and Jason Benham, former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, and some current members of Congress: Mark Meadows, Mark Walker, Chris Smith, and Vicky Hartzler -- the latter being an author of anti-transgender legislation.

Speakers scheduled throughout the conference, which continues through Sunday at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., include Roy Moore, the anti-LGBT, anti-abortion former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, now the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate from the state; Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House; Steve Bannon, executive chairman of Breitbart and a former Trump campaign chairman and White House adviser; Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson; longtime religious right leader Gary Bauer; Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel; Fox News host Laura Ingraham; Fox News contributor Todd Starnes; Edwin Meese, U.S. attorney general in the Reagan administration; and former Marine Corps officer Oliver North, known for his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s.