ABC's Jonathan Karl Calls Trump “The Most Pro-Gay Rights" Republican Candidate Ever

Karl Omits Trump's Anti-LGBT Positions

In a segment discussing presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump’s claim that he’s “really the friend of” the LGBT community, ABC’s Jonathan Karl commented “Trump is the most pro gay rights Republican presidential candidate that we have ever seen.” Karl’s description of Trump as LGBT-friendly whitewashes the candidate’s long track record of hateful statements and positions. On June 10, Trump spoke to a group of evangelicals at the Road to the Majority summit and said “I’m with you 100 percent” on the issue of marriage. Furthermore, on June 21 Trump is scheduled to court evangelicals by meeting with noted anti-gay activists Tony Perkins and James Dobson.

Karl is not the first to state that Trump is a supporter of LGBT rights. NBC Nightly News also referred to Trump as “one of the more LGBT-friendly” Republicans, and Politico recently cast Trump’s “nightmarish” speech about the anti-LGBT Orlando attack as an example of “sudden warmth” from the Republican Party toward LGBT people. From the June 17 edition of ABC’s ABC World News Tonight with David Muir:

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JONATHAN KARL: When it comes to gay rights, it's Hillary Clinton who supports gay marriage, not Donald Trump. But even so, there is little doubt, David, that Trump is the most pro gay rights Republican presidential candidate that we have ever seen.