President Donald Trump used some of his speech at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner to insult a handful of LGBTQ+ journalists and public figures.
The Correspondents’ Dinner took place in Washington DC on 24 July, and was intended to recognise achievements in journalism and award scholarships.
The first LGBTQ+ journalist to be hit by Trump’s speech was gay reporter Anderson Cooper. “I like Anderson actually because he’s covered me well for many years, and he went bad as soon as I went for politics,” he said.
Cooper served as a correspondent on CBS News program 60 Minutes for almost two decades before he stepped down in February. However, he continued as the anchor for his CNN show Anderson Cooper 360°, which he has hosted since 2003.
“But for years he loved the interview. I did so many interviews with him, and he was great, but he’s got a little different persuasion than me in many ways actually,” Trump continued, seemingly referencing the fact that Cooper is gay.
The second LGBTQ+ figure slighted by Trump was CNN anchor and independent journalist Don Lemon. Lemon made headlines himself earlier this year after he live-streamed a report where protesters interrupted a Sunday church service in Minnesota over the presence of ICE agents in the state, and more recently said he was thinking about running for president, adding that he’d do a better job than Trump.
Right-wing musician Nicki Minaj called Lemon a homophobic slur following his coverage, and Lemon fired back, calling her a “homophobic bigot”.
“We had a contest for who had the lowest ratings and the lowest IQ on television, and that was actually Don Lemon, I think,” Trump said in his speech.
“When I said that he’s the dumbest man on television, I said, when you say some things, you never make a comeback. It’s not like, ‘Oh, gee, hey Don, let’s have dinner some night.’”
Trump then made comments about trans influencer and actress Dylan Mulvaney. He honed in on Mulvaney while addressing CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins, who he called a “young, attractive woman” who “never smiles”.
“I thought Kaitlan had really made it big with a major new sponsorship, but then I informed her that it wasn’t her on the Bud Light can, it was Dylan Mulvaney,” he said.
“Dylan Mulvaney cost Bud Light $35billion in market cap. I wouldn’t want to hire Dylan anytime soon. Think of it, they hired Dylan Mulvaney and their market cap has gone down by $35 billion”.
He called the ad “the worst commercial ever made”.
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