Subject: RE: Trump & LGBT
From: "Helmstetter, TJ" <[email-masked]>
To: "Dillon, Lauren" <[email-masked]>, "Roberts, Kelly" <[email-masked]>, "Brinster, Jeremy" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "Graham, Caroline" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 May 2016 11:20:43 -0700

Thanks!

From: Dillon, Lauren
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 2:20 PM
To: Roberts, Kelly; Helmstetter, TJ; Brinster, Jeremy
Cc: Graham, Caroline
Subject: RE: Trump & LGBT

You can always ask TJ! We update things all the time so there may be new goodies the next time you need it.

From: Roberts, Kelly
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 1:05 PM
To: Helmstetter, TJ; Brinster, Jeremy
Cc: Dillon, Lauren; Graham, Caroline
Subject: RE: Trump & LGBT

This is our topline stuff

DONALD TRUMP OPPOSES MARRIAGE EQUALITY

Trump: "I'm Against Gay Marriage."  HANNITY: "Gay marriage, what do you stand?" TRUMP: "I'm against gay marriage. And, you know, not easy to do in New York, but I'm against." [Hannity, Fox News, 4/14/11]

Trump Said He Was For Traditional Marriage. HANNITY: "OK, gay marriage?" TRUMP: "I am traditional. I am for traditional, and it's a changing, it's a changing format, but I am very much of a traditional man." [Hannity, Fox News, 6/17/15]

TRUMP HAS SUGGESTED AS PRESIDENT HE WOULD APPOINT SUPREME COURT JUSTICES THAT WOULD OVERTURN THE SUPREME COURT'S DECISION ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Trump Said "Yes" He Would "Strongly Consider" Appointing Supreme Court Justices As President That Would Overturn The Supreme Court's Decision On Same-Sex Marriage. WALLACE: "But -- but just to button this up very quickly, sir, are you saying that if you become president, you might try to appoint justices to overrule the decision on same-sex marriage?" TRUMP: "I would strongly consider that, yes." [Fox News Sunday, Fox News, 1/31/16]

TRUMP SAID HE WAS "ALL FOR IT" IF ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN TO OVERTURN THE SUPREME COURT'S DECISION ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Trump Said If Anything Could Happen To Overturn The Supreme Court Decision On Same-Sex Marriage He Was "All For It." TRUMP: "Gay marriage? Well, I wanted to see the states decide.  And I wanted very strongly to see that, and the court so ruled.  And if something can happen, most people think it can't at this point, but I would have loved to have seen the states make the decision, Lou, and let it be that way.  The court took it all the way, and as you know, they came down with as decision. If anything can happen, I'm all for it.  But right now, that decision has been made." [Lou Dobbs Tonight, Fox Business, 8/12/15]

Trump Said He Thought The Supreme Court Should Have Ruled That Marriage Was A State Issue And Could See "Changes Coming Down The Line" On It. TRUMP: "I wish that it was done by the state. I don't like the way they ruled. I disagree with the Supreme Court from the standpoint they should have given the state -- it [marriage] should be a states' rights issue. And that's the way it should have been ruled on, Chris, not the way they did it. This is a very surprising ruling. And I -- I can see changes coming down the line, frankly. But I would have much preferred that they ruled at a state level and allowed the states to make those rulings themselves." [Fox News Sunday, Fox News, 1/31/16]

*         Trump Told Evangelicals To "Trust Me" On Traditional Marriage And Said He Was "Very Much In Favor Of Letting The States Decide." "In an exclusive interview with The Brody File, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump says evangelicals can trust him to be a president that will support traditional marriage. 'I think they can trust me. They can trust me on traditional marriage,' Trump tells The Brody File during our interview in Charleston South Carolina. 'I was very much in favor of having the court rule that it goes to states and let the states decide. And that was a shocking decision for you and for me and for a lot of other people. But I was very much in favor of letting the states decide.'" [CBN, 2/18/16<http://www1.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2016/02/18/brody-file-exclusive-donald-trump-tells-evangelicals-they-can-trust>]

2011: TRUMP OPPOSED CIVIL BENEFITS FOR LGBT COUPLES

Trump On Civil Benefits For Gay Couples: "No." "'They should not be able to marry,' he said. But asked whether gay couples should be able access the same benefits as married couples, he said his 'attitude on it has not been fully formed.' Given a second to think, Trump said on marriage and civil benefits, 'As of this moment, I would say no and no.'" [Des Moines Register, 3/3/11<http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/03/03/register-exclusive-trump-says-he-would-play-in-iowa-aides-to-visit-monday>]

TRUMP SUPPORTED RIGHT TO DISCRIMINATE BILLS DISGUISED AS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY EFFORTS AND CLAIMS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY WOULD BE A LITMUS TEST FOR HIS COURT APPOINTMENTS

Donald Trump: "Defense Of Religious Freedom? I Believe Religious Freedom Is The Most Fundamental Constitutional Right We Have And Must Be Protected." [Donald Trump, Crippled America, 11/3/15]

Donald Trump: "If Congress Considers The First Amendment Defense Act A Priority, Then I Will Do All I Can To Make Sure It Comes To My Desk For Signatures And Enactment."  "'If Congress considers the First Amendment Defense Act a priority, then I will do all I can to make sure it comes to my desk for signatures and enactment,' Trump writes." [Washington Blade, 12/23/15<http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/12/23/trump-gives-conditional-support-for-religious-freedom-bill/>]

*         The First Amendment Defense Act Would Prohibit The Government From Taking Action Against Individuals That Oppose Same-Sex Marriage, Meaning It Could Legally Allow Businesses To Discriminate Against LGBT Individuals. "The First Amendment Defense Act - introduced by Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) in the U.S. House and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) in the U.S. Senate - on its face prohibits the federal government from taking action against individuals who oppose same-sex marriage, although "individuals" is defined broadly in the bill to include for-profit businesses. Critics say the legislation would go further and enable anti-LGBT discrimination - as well as potential bias against single mothers and unmarried couples." [Washington Blade, 12/23/15<http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/12/23/trump-gives-conditional-support-for-religious-freedom-bill/>]

Trump Criticized A Report That Chick-Fil-A Could Not Build At A Denver Airport Because Of Their Position On Marriage Equality And Said It Was That Time Of "Deep-Seated, Incredible Beliefs" That Made Our Country Great. HEWITT: "I'm on the campus of a Colorado Christian college today. In Denver, where we're close to, their city councils have said Chick-Fil-A, maybe they can't build at the Denver International Airport because their founders are Evangelical and have traditional marriage views. It's blatantly unconstitutional." TRUMP: "Wow. Wow." HEWITT: "Have you heard that story, yet?" TRUMP: "I haven't heard it, but it doesn't surprise me. It's horrible. What's going on is horrible. I mean, you can't do, you can't do anything having to do with really deep-seated, incredible beliefs that really, to a large extent, made our country great. You know, these, the beliefs in the Bible had a lot to do with our country. And I mean, a week doesn't go by where there's not some negative ruling on something having to do with Christianity. It's getting, I think it's outrageous, and I'll tell you what." [Hugh Hewitt, 8/26/15<http://www.hughhewitt.com/donald-trump-on-the-2016-race/>]

Trump Said He Would Make Religious Liberty A Litmus Test For All Court Nominees, Not Just Those To The Supreme Court. HEWITT: "Will you commit to voters tonight that religious liberty will be an absolute litmus test for anyone you appoint, not just to the Supreme Court, but to all courts?" TRUMP: "Yes, I would. And I've been there. And I've been there very strongly." [Republican Primary Debate, Houston TX, 2/25/16]

TRUMP THINKS STATES SHOULD BE ABOUT TO MAKE UP THEIR OWN LAWS REGARDING TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS, LIKE NORTH CAROLINA AND ITS BATHROOM BILL

Asked About North Carolina's Transgender Bathroom Bill, Trump Said That "Local Communities And States Should Make The Decision... The Federal Government Should Not Be Involved." HANNITY: "And so I wanted to give you a chance to explain your position on that as it relates to transgenders picking which bathroom they want to go to. I can't even believe I'm asking the question, but I'm asking." TRUMP: "Well, it is a small number, but we have to take care of everybody, frankly. And North Carolina, which is a great place -- which I won, by the way -- I love North Carolina -- and they have a law and it's a law that, you know, unfortunately, is causing them some problems. And I fully understand that they want to go through (ph), but they are losing business and they are having a lot of people come out against. With me, I look at it differently. A community, whether it's North Carolina or local communities, really -- they should be involved. We have so many big issues to be thinking about, Sean. We have ISIS to worry about. We have bringing trade back. We have rebuilding our military. But I think this. I think that local communities and states should make the decision, and I feel very strongly about that. The federal government should not be involved." [Hannity, Fox News, 4/21/16]

TRUMP SAID HE HAD "NEVER BEEN OPPOSED" TO KIM DAVIS'S REFUSAL TO FOLLOW THE LAW AND ISSUE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LICENSES

Trump Said He Thought The Refusal Of Kim Davis To Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses Despite The Law Was "Fine" And He Had "Never Been Opposed To Her Stand." "In an interview with me at the Values Voter Summit, the annual conference of social conservatives, business tycoon and 2016 GOP candidate Donald Trump appeared to change his position on Kentucky clerk Kim Davis and her defiant stand to refuse marriage licenses with her name on them in opposition to same-sex marriage. 'I haven't been opposed to her stand and I think it's fine,' Trump told me in an interview on SiriusXM Progress when asked about the clerk's cause and the fact that she is being honored with the 'Cost of Discipleship Award' at the conservative conference, where he spoke on Thursday. 'I've never been opposed to her stand.' When asked if he thinks she should be allowed to deny marriage licenses, he replied,   'We're going to see what happens right now.'" [Huffington Post, 9/25/15<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-value-voters_us_5605745de4b0dd85030747a5>]

From: Helmstetter, TJ
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 1:03 PM
To: Brinster, Jeremy
Cc: Roberts, Kelly
Subject: RE: Trump & LGBT

Thanks

From: Brinster, Jeremy
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 1:02 PM
To: Helmstetter, TJ
Cc: Roberts, Kelly
Subject: RE: Trump & LGBT

+Kelly, we can send some stuff from the Trump book

From: Helmstetter, TJ
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 12:30 PM
To: Brinster, Jeremy
Subject: Trump & LGBT

Hey - I know you have definitely given this to me before. I can't find it, can you send again?

TJ Helmstetter
Deputy Director of Regional and Specialty Media
Democratic National Committee
202.863.8022 - desk
973.464.9224 - cell
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>