When President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law on December 13, 2022, Donald Trump hosted a party at Mar-a-Lago. Ecstatic guests crowded into the ballroom, dancing to “YMCA” and celebrating what they viewed as a cultural shift that could also transform the Republican party. Trump addressed the crowd. “We are fighting for the gay community, and we are fighting and fighting hard,” he
told them
. “With the help of many of the people here tonight in recent years, our movement has taken incredible strides, the strides you’ve made here is incredible.” Few conservatives remarked upon how the former president (and 2024 presidential candidate) referred to the LGBT movement as “our movement.” But it is notable—as is the fact that Trump’s LGBT activism has been accompanied by a pivot away from the pro-life movement.