JD Vance Claims 'Normal Gay Guys' Support Trump And, Oh, The Clapback
JD Vance made a bold claim to Joe Rogan during his appearance on Rogan’s podcast Thursday: that Donald Trump is actually popular with “normal” gay men.
Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, was telling Rogan about a gay friend who is a committed conservative. He contrasted this man with members of the “crazy” LGBTQ+ community writ large, particularly nonbinary and transgender people.
He told Rogan he and Trump “wouldn’t be surprised if we won the normal gay guy vote” — men who just “wanted to be left the hell alone.”
A number of gay Democrats on social media were quick to tell the Republican vice presidential nominee: Not so fast.
Vance’s claim overlooked the staunchly anti-LGBTQ platform Trump embraced during his time in office, including policies affecting gay men specifically, such as his support of allowing adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples.
But much of the snark was centered around Vance’s concept of a “normal gay guy.”
Some people tried to explain what Vance was really getting at.
Others just tried to figure out what exactly a “normal gay guy” is.
A few people offered evidence contrary to Vance’s claim of support in the gay community.
“My reporting shows that this isn’t true in any way,” Christopher Wiggins of the LGBTQ+ publication The Advocate wrote Thursday. “Firstly, not sure what a normal gay is, but most LGBTQ+ people are not voting against their own interests and for Project 2025.”
Others, like Illinois Democratic Rep. Eric Sorensen and his partner, hit back with selfies proclaiming their support for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
See those and other reactions below.