GLAAD STATEMENT ON DONALD TRUMP AND THE IOWA CAUCUSES

(New York, NY – January 16, 2024) GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, released a statement on the results of the Iowa caucuses and  additional research for reporters covering upcoming primary races.

Statement from GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis:
“The results in Iowa show urgency and clarity for voters who believe in liberty and justice for all. No one should forget that Donald Trump led more than 200 attacks in policy and rhetoric against LGBTQ Americans, with enablers in Congress and the courts stripping fundamental freedoms from every American. The stakes for all of us are clear: the freedom to be ourselves, to be safe from discrimination and violence, to make our own health care decisions, to raise a family if and when we want, to read what we want, to have schools that lift every student, to have our votes count, are in jeopardy. Our future depends on reporters asking candidates how they will protect these freedoms, and on voters who must again use their voices to secure them.”

Additional research:

• GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project has tracked the Trump administration’s more than 200 negative policies and dangerous rhetoric against LGBTQ Americans during his presidency and into the 2024 campaign: glaad.org/tap/donald-trump
• Ron DeSantis’ LGBTQ record, via GLAAD Accountability Project
• Nikki Haley’s LGBTQ record, via GLAAD Accountability Project
• GLAAD Fact Sheet for Campaign Reporters: Guidance for Accurate, Inclusive Coverage of LGBTQ People and Topics in the 2024 Campaign
• GLAAD and ADL’s Center on Extremism tracked more than 700 incidents of violence, harassment and vandalism against LGBTQ people in 2023
• More than 500 bills were proposed in state legislatures targeting LGBTQ people in 2023, including bans blocked by courts against mainstream health care, book bans, curriculum and school conversation bans, drag bans, pronoun bans and bathroom bans. 
• Voters have rejected candidates who center their campaigns on targeting transgender people, including in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan and Kansas. 
• GLAAD research shows 91% of non-LGBTQ Americans support LGBTQ people’s right to live their lives free from discrimination.