An obscure political nonprofit in Iowa that has tried to portray Donald Trump as a champion of the LGBTQ+ community is doubling down on its unlikely claim, producing a second pamphlet condemning the former president for “fighting conservatives” over trans rights.
The messenger repeats the message of the original communication that the front-runner for the Republican nomination for next year’s election is a “trans pioneer”.
The new missive, reported on Saturday of the Iowa political blog Bleeding Heartland, throws a rainbow-colored heart into the mix, saying that Trump “stood up to conservative members of Congress when they tried to strip the US-Mexico-Canada agreement of language that protects sexual orientation and gender identity”.
On the contrary, a 2019 analysis by the Yale Law Journal notes that the Trump administration, which it said was “hostile to transgender people,” had watered down those protections in the agreement’s language but failed to eliminate it entirely despite the their best efforts.
The flyer was published by a group called Advancing Our Values, a Des Moines-based nonprofit that registered with the secretary of state’s office just two weeks ago. Renewed efforts by the Guardian to reach the group were unsuccessful.
The new attack on Trump, which Bleeding Heartland said was sent as a mass mailing to an unknown number of Iowa households, also claims he “stood firm” against bathroom bills that deny access to restrooms based on declared gender identity rather than that assigned at birth.
Although Trump has delivered mixed messages on LGBTQ+ rights, saying he was “fine” with same-sex marriage during the 2016 campaign, he later rolled back protections for transgender patients as president and overturned his own education secretary in 2017 for roll back protections for trans students.
“It’s weird advertising,” David Peterson, a political science professor at Iowa State University, told the Guardian after the first flyer was published.
The origins of Advancing Our Values are unknown, though its agenda appears to align with those opposing Trump for the Republican nomination.
Florida’s right-wing governor Ron DeSantis’ campaign recently ended a “homophobic” video. attacking Trump for his alleged support of trans rights, which he initially defended in the face of a wave of outrage.
According to the group’s founding documents published onlineregistered as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, a status that allows it to “engage in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to candidates for public office,” as long as its activity is not the main fundraiser. arm for any candidate’s campaign.
A person named Kyle Adema from Nebraska is listed as president. The Guardian was unable to reach Adema for comment.
The Bleeding Heartland blog, which has been investigating the group, says it has “found no link to … DeSantis operatives,” but notes that its goals are the same: “Decreasing support for Trump among possible Iowa Republican Caucus Participants.” .
According to blog author Laura Belin: “Discrimination against transgender people is popular in Republican circles, and presidential candidates often get applause or standing ovations in Iowa for rhetoric opposing inclusive policies.”
