A few weeks ago, Donald Trump tried to claim the hashtag “#ImWithYou” to counter Hillary Clinton’s slogan, “I’m With Her.”
#Imwithyou https://t.co/tan8BmAuR8 pic.twitter.com/5EZ7X1ZZKh
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2016
The response from Hillary’s social media team?
You*
*offer not valid for Muslims, women, Latinos, African Americans, LGBT Americans, middle-class families … https://t.co/FTFYAyUFfp
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 22, 2016
That tweet proved remarkably prescient on Tuesday, when Trump threw his full weight behind North Carolina’s outrageously homophobic House Bill 2.
Just hours after the Justice Department sought an injunction to neuter HB2, the Donald took the stage for a campaign rally in Raleigh. Before the rally, he spoke backstage with The (Raleigh) News & Observer. The conversation quickly turned to HB2, and Trump let it be known that he wanted the law to stay on the books. His full response has to be reproduced in full to be believed.
“I’m going with the state. I mean, they know what’s going on. They see what’s happening. And generally speaking, I’m with the state on things like this. And I’ve spoken to your governor. I’ve spoken to a lot of different people, and I’m going with the state.”
Um, Donald? If you were really “going with the state,” you’d know that the people of North Carolina oppose this outrageous bill. A recent poll from Public Policy Polling found that only 32 percent of North Carolinians support this bill, against 43 percent opposed. Moreover, only 30 percent of North Carolinians think it’s made the state safer, and only only 28 percent think it’s helping the state overall. Sounds to me like he isn’t really going with the state–but with his new buddies from the religious right.
What makes this even more staggering is that when this bill passed, Trump actually denounced it during an appearance on NBC’s “Today.” Watch here.
Incredibly, after telling The N&O that he now supported HB2, Trump had the audacity to tell the audience that he was actually a friend to the LGBT community.
Trump: "I am better for the gay community, I am better for woman, than Hillary will be on her best day."
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) July 6, 2016
I’m surprised Trump was able to remain standing when he said this. After all, his pants were probably an inferno. But now, North Carolina’s gay community has learned that they have been the latest to be taken for a ride by the Donald.
The Human Rights Campaign and Equality NC rushed out with a burning statement condemning Trump for his support of this outrageous law. HRC senior vice president JoDee Winterhof denounced Trump’s support of “a dangerous law” that has tarnished North Carolina’s reputation and dragged down its economy like an anchor. Equality NC executive director and state representative Chris Sgro said, in a colossal understatement, that Trump has proven that he is “no friend to gay and transgender people.”
I think it’s safe to say that Trump has dropped any pretense of moving to the center. Speaking as a North Carolinian, it could cost him dearly in November. That same PPP poll also found the presidential race here in North Carolina is a flat-footed tie, with Trump and Hillary getting 41 percent apiece. Ultimately, it will come down to turnout–just like it did in 2008. If you remember, that year John McCain drowned under an Obama tsunami in the state’s five largest counties–Mecklenburg, Wake, Guilford, Forsyth, and Durham–homes to Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Durham, respectively.
When the state’s LGBT community learns that Trump was talking out of both sides of his mouth, it will all but assure they turn out to vote for Hillary in November. This severely limits Trump’s already narrow margin for error in North Carolina. Simply put, if he loses here, he cannot possibly get to 270. Hmmm–could this doubletalk on Tuesday have ultimately cost him North Carolina, and the White House? We’ll have to wait and see.
