News
Trump extols ‘religious freedom’ order at Liberty University
Slams critics as ‘pathetic’


President Trump disparaged critics as “pathetic” in a Liberty University commencement speech. (Screenshot via CSPAN)
In a commencement speech at a school with an anti-LGBT reputation, President Trump extolled a recent executive order he signed in the name of “religious freedom” that opponents say could lay the groundwork for anti-LGBT discrimination.
Trump made the remarks during his commencement speech Saturday at Liberty University, saying in reference to the executive order he “did some very important signings” recently for religious freedom.
“America is better when people put their faith into action,” Trump said. “As long as I am your president, no one is ever going to stop you from practicing your faith or from preaching what’s in your heart.”
It wasn’t clear whether Trump was referencing the issue of clerks refusing to marry same-sex couples in his remarks, although he has endorsed “religious freedom” legislation known as the First Amendment Defense Act that critics say would allow anti-LGBT discrimination.
Although the religious freedom executive order on its face doesn’t allow discrimination against LGBT people, the measure instructs U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to “as appropriate, issue guidance interpreting religious liberty protections in Federal law.” Some LGBT advocates have said that language will empower Sessions to find ways to discriminate against LGBT people, such as allowing workers at federal agencies to refuse to process paperwork for same-sex couples in the name of “religious freedom.”
Other observers don’t read the executive order the same way. The American Civil Liberties Union had threatened to sue Trump over the executive order, but later declined to take that action on the basis that it was “an elaborate photo-op with no discernible policy outcome.”
The “religious freedom” executive order reference was a small component of a commencement speech in which Trump encouraged graduates to look to the future and emphasized the importance of faith in America. On the day before Mother’s Day, Trump invoked the idea of his late mother smiling down on him from heaven and the late Rev. Jerry Falwell smiling down on his son, Jerry Falwell Jr., who’s president of Liberty University.
At a time when Trump is under fire for his administration’s actions and the firing of FBI Director James Comey as he was conducting an investigation on whether he colluded with Russian in hacking in the 2016 election, Trump also during his speech belittled critics when encouraging graduates to pursue their dreams.
“Nothing is easier or more pathetic than being a critic, because they’re people that can’t get the job done. But the future belongs to the dreamers, not to the critics,” Trump said. “The future belongs to the people who follow their heart no matter what the critics say because they truly believe in their vision.”
Trump’s commencement speech marks the first time since President George H.W. Bush spoke at Liberty University in 1990 that the school has hosted a sitting U.S. president. The speech is also the first commencement address Trump delivered as president.
A Baptist school, Liberty University has an anti-LGBT reputation. The university has a policy of prohibiting “sexual relations outside of a biblically ordained marriage between a natural-born man and a natural-born woman,” which prohibits intimate relationships with LGBT people.
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.
Federal Government
RFK Jr.’s HHS report pushes therapy, not medical interventions, for trans youth
‘Discredited junk science’ — GLAAD

A 409-page report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenges the ethics of medical interventions for youth experiencing gender dysphoria, the treatments that are often collectively called gender-affirming care, instead advocating for psychotherapy alone.
The document comes in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order barring the federal government from supporting gender transitions for anyone younger than 19.
“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children — not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”
While the report does not constitute clinical guidance, its findings nevertheless conflict with not just the recommendations of LGBTQ advocacy groups but also those issued by organizations with relevant expertise in science and medicine.
The American Medical Association, for instance, notes that “empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and non-binary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression.”
Gender-affirming care for transgender youth under standards widely used in the U.S. includes supportive talk therapy along with — in some but not all cases — puberty blockers or hormone treatment.
“The suggestion that someone’s authentic self and who they are can be ‘changed’ is discredited junk science,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. “This so-called guidance is grossly misleading and in direct contrast to the recommendation of every leading health authority in the world. This report amounts to nothing more than forcing the same discredited idea of conversion therapy that ripped families apart and harmed gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people for decades.”
GLAAD further notes that the “government has not released the names of those involved in consulting or authoring this report.”
Janelle Perez, executive director of LPAC, said, “For decades, every major medical association–including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics–have affirmed that medical care is the only safe and effective treatment for transgender youth experiencing gender dysphoria.
“This report is simply promoting conversion therapy by a different name – and the American people know better. We know that conversion therapy isn’t actually therapy – it isolates and harms kids, scapegoats parents, and divides families through blame and rejection. These tactics have been used against gay kids for decades, and now the same people want to use them against transgender youth and their families.
“The end result here will be a devastating denial of essential health care for transgender youth, replaced by a dangerous practice that every major U.S. medical and mental health association agree promotes anxiety, depression, and increased risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice, and no amount of pressure can force someone to change who they are. We also know that 98% of people who receive transition-related health care continue to receive that health care throughout their lifetime. Trans health care is health care.”
“Today’s report seeks to erase decades of research and learning, replacing it with propaganda. The claims in today’s report would rip health care away from kids and take decision-making out of the hands of parents,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of NCLR. “It promotes the same kind of conversion therapy long used to shame LGBTQ+ people into hating themselves for being unable to change something they can’t change.”
“Like being gay or lesbian, being transgender is not a choice—it’s rooted in biology and genetics,” Minter said. “No amount or talk or pressure will change that.”
Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown released a statement: “Trans people are who we are. We’re born this way. And we deserve to live our best lives and have a fair shot and equal opportunity at living a good life.
“This report misrepresents the science that has led all mainstream American medical and mental health professionals to declare healthcare for transgender youth to be best practice and instead follows a script predetermined not by experts but by Sec. Kennedy and anti-equality politicians.”
The White House
Trump nominates Mike Waltz to become next UN ambassador
Former Fla. congressman had been national security advisor

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he will nominate Mike Waltz to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
Waltz, a former Florida congressman, had been the national security advisor.
Trump announced the nomination amid reports that Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, were going to leave the administration after Waltz in March added a journalist to a Signal chat in which he, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other officials discussed plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.
“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States ambassador to the United Nations,” said Trump in a Truth Social post that announced Waltz’s nomination. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.”
Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as interim national security advisor, “while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department.”
“Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to make America, and the world, safe again,” said Trump.
Trump shortly after his election nominated U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to become the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Trump in March withdrew her nomination in order to ensure Republicans maintained their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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