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Why the White House and Fox News are fighting over gay pride


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Why the White House and Fox News are fighting over gay pride

David Knowles·Senior EditorWed, June 14, 2023 at 7:00 PM CDT
5–7 minutes

Joe Bide

 

President Biden at a Pride Month celebration on the South Lawn of the White House, June 10. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

 

Tensions between the Biden administration and Fox News over Saturday’s Pride Month celebration at the White House boiled over this week, with the White House accusing the conservative network of lying about the meaning of a flag displayed at the event.

“@FoxNews is characteristically lying through their teeth,” deputy press secretary Andrew Bates wrote in a tweet that linked to a Fox News piece that read: “White House flew controversial new transgender flag that promotes grooming and pedophilia, say critics.”

In the article, Fox News reporter Kerry Byrne said critics of the flag told the network “it appears to reference a cult of pedophilia infecting many institutions and represents an unwanted takeover of traditional gay symbolism.”

Bates added that “Fox never even communicated the malicious and discredited foundation of this article to the White House. Then they lie about whether we responded at all.”

Fox News deleted the tweet and reframed the article to focus on how the transgender flag “troubles some critics in the gay community.”

The Progress Pride Flag

The Progress Pride flag

 

The Progress Pride Flag displayed from the balcony of the White House. (Anna Rose Layden/Reuters)

 

The Biden administration hung what is known as the Progress Pride Flag at the White House to mark Pride Month. On its website, the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, explained the flag’s origin.

“The Progress Pride Flag evolved from the Philadelphia Pride Flag and was created by Daniel Quasar. Quasar added a white, pink, and light-blue stripe to represent the Trans community,” the group said.

“While the black and brown stripes still represented communities of color, the black stripe is also a nod to the thousands of individuals that the community lost during the HIV/AIDS crisis in 1980s and 1990s. Since its creation, the flag has become very popular.”

Flag code violation?

Conservatives upset over the display of the Progress Pride Flag also claimed its placement had violated the U.S. Flag Code, which requires the “flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from staffs.”

Fox News ran a story on those critics on Sunday, quoting Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton, who echoed the conservative belief that transgender people are "targeting children."

“To advance revolutionary transgender agenda targeting children, Biden violates basic tenet of US Flag Code and disrespects every American service member buried under its colors,” Fitton wrote on Twitter.

But an American flag was also being flown atop the White House, claiming the highest spot on the property.

Topless trans activist

Rose Montoya

 

Rose Montoya at the Queerties Awards in Los Angeles, Feb. 28. (Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)

 

At a time when conservatives have gone after private companies like Bud Light and Target for their promotion of gay and transgender rights, and Fox News airs regular segments promoting those boycotts, the decision for the White House to proudly champion those causes has been, for some, controversial.

That controversy was fanned when transgender activist and model Rose Montoya was photographed topless at the White House event. Fox News and other conservative outlets published multiple articles about the incident.

The White House released a statement barring Montoya from attending future events.

“The behavior was simply unacceptable. We’ve been very clear about that,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday. “It was unfair to the hundreds of attendees who were there to celebrate their families. So, you know, we’re going to continue to be clear on that, and that type of behavior is, as I said, unacceptable. It’s inappropriate, it’s disrespectful. And it really does not reflect the event that we hosted to celebrate the LGBTQ+ families.”

In an Instagram video, Montoya defended her support of “freeing the nipple.”

“Conservatives are trying to use the video of me topless at the White House to try to call the community groomers, etcetera,” she said. “And I would just like to say that, first of all, going topless in Washington, D.C., is legal, and I fully support the movement in freeing the nipple because why is my chest now deemed inappropriate or illegal when I show it off, however, before coming out as trans it was not?”

‘Wannabe dictator’

Tensions between the network and the White House were also exacerbated Thursday, when Fox News briefly ran a chyron that accompanied their coverage of former President Donald Trump's arraignment on felony counts stemming from his alleged mishandling of classified documents.

“Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested,” the chyron read.

Fox News explained Thursday that it had removed that description “immediately.”

Asked Thursday to respond to the chyron, Jean-Pierre referenced the $787 million judgement against the company in the defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems.

“There are probably about 787 million things that I can say about this,” she said. “That was wrong what we saw last night, but I don’t think I’m going to get into it.”

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it seems you boys upset with the flag kinda forgot the american flag was and does fly over the white house. so just another nothing burger to demonize the dems. many on here in fact did that...............

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Gay friends I know say they wish all this "pride" stuff and flag would just go away because it just brings too much attention to gay people who just want to go about their daily lives without all the hullaboo and caters to the ones who relish all the publicity.

Edited by Son of A Tiger
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3 hours ago, icanthearyou said:

Gay friends you know?

I would be glad to post some of their pictures but certainly not a forum like this without their permission. They include a former Auburn coach, Auburn athlete, and a super Auburn fan among others.

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6 hours ago, Son of A Tiger said:

Gay friends I know say they wish all this "pride" stuff and flag would just go away because it just brings too much attention to gay people who just want to go about their daily lives without all the hullaboo and caters to the ones who relish all the publicity.

you mean like that trans girl stabbed multiple times in a public park if i remember correctly? she never hurt anyone and she is dead. this is why i stand up. it is stupid and hateful. they have been murdering gays for years. remember the young man they murdered and hung up on a barbed wire fence? it is not sinking it. these people are human. if the right would just except them there would be little problem but you throw all on the gays instead of the haters. try to get a job in a conservative region. if they will boycott target and chic fil a do you really think they will not be discriminated? anytime folks try to do something you raise hell until your side tries to steal am election and then you get pissed. spear me please..............

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1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

you mean like that trans girl stabbed multiple times in a public park if i remember correctly? she never hurt anyone and she is dead. this is why i stand up. it is stupid and hateful. they have been murdering gays for years. remember the young man they murdered and hung up on a barbed wire fence? it is not sinking it. these people are human. if the right would just except them there would be little problem but you throw all on the gays instead of the haters. try to get a job in a conservative region. if they will boycott target and chic fil a do you really think they will not be discriminated? anytime folks try to do something you raise hell until your side tries to steal am election and then you get pissed. spear me please..............

What is "my " side and who is pissed.....except maybe you pissing in the wind with whatabouts and ignoring civil responses to you.

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13 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

it seems you boys upset with the flag kinda forgot the american flag was and does fly over the white house. so just another nothing burger to demonize the dems. many on here in fact did that...............

I would say most see no reason for it to be flying period. 
 

Shame on Biden for banning Rose from the White House. Just showing “joy”.

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53 minutes ago, Son of A Tiger said:

except maybe you pissing in the wind with whatabouts and ignoring civil responses to you.

 

giphy.gif

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