Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance had a three-hour sit-down interview with Joe Rogan on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience just a week after Donald Trump’s interview with the host.
As of writing, the Rogan and Vance video has more than 10 million views, and many have summarized the key takeaways from the lengthy conversation, one of which is Vance’s confidence that he and Trump have the gay community’s votes. “I think frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if me and Trump won just the normal gay guy vote,” he told Rogan, adding that “they just want to be left the hell alone.”
When the video was released, many — particularly those who support and are part of the LGBTQ+ community — reacted to Vance’s statement, asking what he meant by “normal” gay guys. One of those who commented was TV personality and host Andy Cohen, who reposted a clip of the interview with the comment, “sashay away” in reference to RuPaul’s catchphrase whenever a contestant was eliminated from his show RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Broadcast journalist Anderson Cooper also reacted to Vance’s statement, telling his CNN co-hosts “I’m curious to know where the line is between a normal gay person and a not-normal gay person,” he said before adding that he assumes what Vance meant was anything that has to do with drag and wearing makeup would be considered “not normal.” “It’s fine for Donald Trump, but on a gay guy that wouldn’t be considered normal,” Cooper added.
Gay Congress members react to JD Vance’s statement
Two gay members of Congress also shared their thoughts on Vance’s “normal gay guy” comment. U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) told the Washington Blade that he doesn’t trust Vance on many things, especially so when it comes to his opinion on what “normal” is.
“JD has spent his time as both a candidate and Senator attacking the rights of the LGBTQI+ community, and he has no idea what ‘normal gays’ go through because of bullies like him and Trump.”
Porcan further stated that “normal” gays are just like “normal” people who aren’t gay in that they are people who care about the country they live in and their own families. Based on his assessment, he surmises that the majority are voting for presidential candidate Kamala Harris “because they know what’s at stake for our community and our country.”
Likewise, U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), who was interviewed by the Washington Blade over the phone, said that Vance’s statement was “so stupid” and “ridiculous.” According to Garcia, it’s hard to believe that the majority of the gay community would just vote for Trump and Vance knowing their anti-LGBTQ stance and the statements they’ve made in the past against the community. He further added that there might be a “handful of these MAGA Log Cabin folks,” but based on his observation, Harris’ support from the LGBTQ+ community is huge in comparison.
Garcia also stated that it shows Vance is “completely out of touch” and has a “complete lack of awareness” when he singled out the “normal gay guys” from the rest of the community.
“I think that is something that conservatives try to do is to somehow say that they’re okay with, you know, the LGB, but not with trans people, and that’s unacceptable to us.”
Human Rights Campaign conducted a poll in Aug. and the results showed that among the LGBTQ+ community’s registered voters, 74 percent support Harris compared to the 7.5 percent who said they would vote for Trump.
Published: Nov 2, 2024 01:04 pm