News
Anti-LGBTQ activist brags about being Trump appointee — but White House denies it
AFA led the charge on ad featuring brides kissing on Hallmark Channel
Tim Wildmon, president of the notoriously anti-LGBTQ American Family Association, is bragging about his new membership in a Trump faith advisory council — but the White House is flat-out denying the appointment.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere told the Washington Blade on Wednesday Wildmon’s claims of his appointment are completely baseless.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about,” Deere said. “There is no such thing as a White House Faith Council or Advisory Board. There is a Faith & Opportunity Initiative led by an advisor, Pastor Paula White, but it does not include a council or advisory board.”
A spokesperson for the American Family Association didn’t respond to the Blade’s request to comment on why the White House would contradict Wildmon about news of his appointment.
Wildmon’s claim he obtained the appointment came to light Wednesday after Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO of the LGBTQ watchdog GLAAD, slammed Wildmon’s claim of appointment in a news statement.
“Tim’s addition to the White House’s Faith Advisory Council sends a solemn message to LGBTQ Americans and allies who are tired of the Trump administration’s attacks on LGBTQ and other marginalized communities,” Ellis said.
Trump’s advisors in the past have included many anti-LGBTQ activists, such as Gary Bauer, president of American Values; Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University; Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas; Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council; and Ralph Reed, founder of the Faith & Freedom Coalition.
Wildmon, in a statement Monday declaring himself an appointee to a Trump faith council, said Trump is “a flawed man,” but at the same time “not ashamed of the Bible, the Constitution, the family and the free enterprise system.”
“This is a critical time for America,” Wildmon said in a statement. “We need to pray for God to intervene. We need to ask the Lord to protect, strengthen, encourage and guide our nation and our president. I believe the only hope for him, and this nation, is God.”
Drew Anderson, a GLAAD spokesperson, said the LGBT group is standing by its statement based on Wildmon’s claim and history of anti-LGBTQ activists having access to the Trump White House.
Wildmon, whose long anti-LGBTQ history goes back years, has at times called being gay “unnatural,” “immoral” and “unhealthy.”
According to GLAAD, Wildmon has condemned, among other things, the Supreme Court decision striking down the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act and the drafting of openly gay player Michael Sam into the National Football League.
The news comes shortly after the fiasco at the Hallmark Channel, which pulled a TV ad showing a lesbian couple kissing during a wedding ceremony, then apologized and reinstated it after outrage that followed.
Ellis pointed out One Million Moms, a division of the American Family Association, was responsible for convincing the channel to withdraw the ad in the first place.
“As evidenced by the American Family Association’s recent attacks on The Hallmark Channel, Disney, and other inclusive brands, Tim Wildmon is covertly the chief conductor of anti-LGBTQ activists and the vicious attempt to roll back LGBTQ equality and acceptance,” Ellis said.
Uganda
World Bank resumes lending to Uganda
New loans suspended in 2023 after Anti-Homosexuality Act signed
The World Bank Group has resumed lending to Uganda.
The bank in 2023 suspended new loans to the African country after President Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which contains a death penalty provision for “aggravated homosexuality.” Reuters reported the bank decided to resume lending on June 5.
“We have now determined the mitigation measures rolled out over the last several months in all ongoing projects in Uganda to be satisfactory,” a bank spokesperson told Reuters in an email. “Consequently, the bank has prepared three new projects in sectors with significant development needs – social protection, education, and forced displacement/refugees – which have been approved by the board.”
Activists had urged the bank not to resume loans to Uganda.
Richard Lusimbo, director general of the Uganda Key Population Consortium, last September described the “so-called ‘mitigation measures’ are a façade, designed to provide the illusion of protection.”
“They rely on perpetrators of discrimination — the government of Uganda — to implement the measures fairly,” said Lusimbo. “How can they be taken seriously?”
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.
Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.
Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.
Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.
“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”
In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”
Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.
“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”
Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.
“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”
Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.
“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”
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