前第一夫人梅兰妮·特朗普在周六的一次筹款活动上宣布了一项重大的选民外联举措，以获得保守派同性恋者对前总统唐纳德·特朗普2024年竞选的支持。此举旨在提高特朗普在2020年投票反对他的群体中的地位募捐活动的组织者告诉ABC新闻。
在本周期大部分时间都没有参加丈夫的竞选活动后，梅兰妮·特朗普周六晚上罕见地出现在一场政治活动中，作为嘉宾在特朗普小木屋共和党俱乐部的筹款活动上发表讲话。小木屋共和党俱乐部是美国最大的保守性少数群体+组织。
在票已售罄的筹款会上，梅兰妮·特朗普对保守派性少数群体+的支持者说，当晚筹集的资金据组织者称超过100万美元将用于向关键摇摆州部署资源，教育选民了解保守派性少数群体+的事业，并在同性恋群体中传递支持特朗普的信息，共同主持人之一、唐纳德·特朗普的老朋友比尔·怀特说
理查德·格雷内尔(Richard Grenell)是前美国驻德国大使，也是特朗普时期的前国家情报代理主任，他成为美国第一位担任内阁级职务的公开同性恋者。他将在怀特和怀特的丈夫布莱恩·厄尔(Bryan Eure)的帮助下领导新的木屋共和党人倡议。怀特是无畏海、空和太空博物馆的前馆长。厄尔是保险经纪公司威利斯·韬森(Willis Towers Watson)的高级副总裁。
怀特说，这一倡议预计将是梅兰妮·特朗普的首要任务之一，她将通过“即将开展的活动”来支持这一倡议——鉴于梅兰妮·特朗普在2016年或2020年几乎没有为她的丈夫竞选，这将形成明显的对比。(特朗普竞选团队没有提供更多关于保守派同性恋选民可能发生的事件的细节。)
“他们听到我们，他们看到我们，他们爱我们，”怀特在周六晚上谈到特朗普夫妇给木屋共和党人的信息时说。
在梅兰妮·特朗普宣布参与“木屋共和党人倡议”之前，她因丈夫第三次竞选总统而远离公众视线数月。然而，她保留了自己的一些举措——12月在新美国公民入籍仪式上发表讲话;一些慈善工作，如2021年与当地寄养组织合作;推出一系列数码收藏品、一系列圣诞饰品，最近还推出了一款售价245美元的母亲节主题项链。
她最近两次公开露面是在本月早些时候在佛罗里达州棕榈滩为唐纳德·特朗普和共和党人举行的一次大型筹款活动上，组织者表示他们筹集了5000多万美元;上个月，前总统在佛罗里达州共和党初选中投票的棕榈滩投票站。
怀特告诉ABC新闻，同性恋共和党人的倡议预计将涉及“所有关键摇摆州的数字足迹”，以及“广泛研究和开发我们需要与谁沟通以及我们将如何与他们沟通”-努力说服美国男女同性恋群体“唐纳德·特朗普是我们所有人的最佳选择。”
民调显示，他过去明显落后于那些选民。出口民调显示，竞争对手乔·拜登(Joe Biden)以64%对27%的得票率击败了自称是性少数群体+社区成员的特朗普。但与2016年相比，这对特朗普来说略有改善，当时他只获得了14%的支持率。
前总统与众不同来自其他一些主要的保守派拥抱同性恋者他的反跨性别立场引起了性少数群体+社区的广泛抗议。
怀特声称，自唐纳德·特朗普首次竞选总统以来，性少数群体+社区内支持特朗普的声音呈指数级增长，并注意到全国范围内支持特朗普的性少数群体+联盟的努力。
他说:“我们是同性恋共和党人，我们投票给特朗普。“为了我们的健康、繁荣、安全和保障，他是这次选举中最好的也是唯一的选择。”
怀特说，梅兰妮·特朗普在周六晚上筹款会上的部分演讲将在小木屋共和党人的数字广告中播出。
他说:“我们非常感谢特朗普夫人的战略领导，并使这一倡议成为她2024年总统竞选和丈夫成功当选的首要任务之一。
在周六上午的筹款活动之前，另一位同性恋保守派盟友格雷内尔在X上支持唐纳德·特朗普为“我们的安全、保障和繁荣的最佳候选人”。
“他认为你是100%平等的——负责任、勤奋和成功取决于你自己，”他继续说道。“任何人告诉你，你在美国受到压迫，或者因为你是同性恋而需要特殊的附带协议，都只是在试图控制你。”
多年来，梅拉尼娅和唐纳德·特朗普都与木屋共和党保持着密切的关系。2021年，梅兰妮·特朗普在Mar-a-Lago的年度晚会上担任主角，并因其在“帮助儿童充分发挥潜力”和“倡导更具包容性的共和党”中的作用而获得该组织的林肯精神奖
2022年，唐纳德·特朗普在Mar-a-Lago举行的木屋共和党人林肯精神庆祝活动上担任主角，他告诉观众，“我们正在为同性恋群体而战，我们正在努力奋斗。”
Melania Trump announces push to woo gay conservatives during Mar-a-Lago fundraiser, organizer says
Former first lady Melania Trump at a fundraiser on Saturday announced a major voter outreach initiative to garner conservative gay and lesbian support for former President Donald Trump’s 2024 bid -- in an effort to boost his standing with a group that, more broadly, voted against him in 2020 --organizers of the fundraisertold ABC News.
After having mostly stayed away from her husband’s campaign trail this cycle, Melania Trump made a rare appearance at a political event Saturday night, speaking as a guest of honor at the fundraiser at the Trumps' Mar-a-Lago Club for Log Cabin Republicans, the largest conservative LGBTQ+ organization in the United States.
Addressing conservative LGBTQ+ supporters at the sold-out fundraiser, Melania Trump said money raised that night -- more than $1 million, according to organizers -- would go toward an effort to deploy resources to key swing states in educating voters about conservative LGBTQ+ causes and delivering pro-Trump messages among gay and lesbian communities, said Bill White, one of the co-hosts and a longtime friend of Donald Trump.
Richard Grenell, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany and former acting director of national intelligence under Trump, becoming the first openly gay person to hold a Cabinet-level position in the U.S., will be spearheading the new Log Cabin Republicans initiative with help from White, a former president of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, and White’s husband, Bryan Eure, a senior vice president at insurance brokerage firm Willis Towers Watson.
This initiative is expected to be one of Melania Trump’s top priorities, White said, and she is set to support it with “upcoming activities" -- which would mark a notable contrast given how little Melania Trump has campaigned on behalf of her husband in either 2016 or 2020. (The Trump campaign did not provide more details about possible events for conservative gay and lesbian voters.)
“They hear us, they see us, and they love us,” White said of the Trumps' message to Log Cabin Republicans on Saturday night.
The announcement of Melania Trump's involvement with the Log Cabin Republicans initiative comes after months of her staying away from the public spotlight as her husband's third presidential bid heats up. She has, however, maintained some of her own initiatives -- speaking at a naturalization ceremony for new U.S. citizens in December; some charity work like with a local foster care organization in 2021; and launching a line of digital collectibles, a line of Christmas ornaments and, more recently, a Mother's Day-themed necklace for $245.
The last two times she was seen publicly on the trail were at a major Palm Beach, Florida, fundraiser for Donald Trump and Republicans earlier this month, where organizers said they raised more than $50 million; and last month at a Palm Beach polling location where the former president voted in the Florida Republican primary.
White told ABC News the initiative for gay Republicans is expected to involve “digital footprints in all of the key swing states,” as well as “extensive research and development into who we need to be communicating with and how we will communicate with them” -- an effort to persuade the gay and lesbian community in America that “Donald Trump is the best choice for all of us.”
Polling shows that he has notably lagged with those voters in the past. Rival Joe Biden won self-identified members of the LGBTQ+ community over Trump, 64-27%, exit polls showed. But that was a slight improvement for Trump compared with 2016, when he got only 14%.
While the former presidentdifferentiated himselffrom some other leading conservativesin embracing gay people, his anti-trans positions have drawn broader outcry from the LGBTQ+ community.
White claimed the pro-Trump voices within the LGBTQ+ community have grown exponentially since Donald Trump’s first presidential bid, noting efforts by national-level pro-Trump LGBTQ+ coalitions.
“We are gay Republicans and we are voting for Trump,” he said. “He is the best and only choice in this election for our health, prosperity, safety and security."
Parts of Melania Trump’s speech at the fundraiser Saturday night will be put out in Log Cabin Republicans’ digital ads, White said.
“We are so grateful to Mrs. Trump for her strategic leadership and making this initiative one of her top priorities for the 2024 presidential campaign and for the successful election of her husband,” he said.
Ahead of the fundraiser on Saturday morning, Grenell, another gay conservative ally, on X threw support behind Donald Trump as “the best candidate for our safety, security and prosperity.”
"He sees you as 100% equal - it's up to you to be responsible, hardworking and successful,” he continued. “Anyone telling you that you are oppressed in America or that you need special side agreements because you're gay is only seeking to control you."
Over the years, both Melania and Donald Trump have maintained a close relationship with Log Cabin Republicans. In 2021, Melania Trump headlined their annual gala at Mar-a-Lago and received the group's Spirit of Lincoln award for her role in "helping children reach their full potential" and "championing a more inclusive Republican Party."
In 2022, Donald Trump headlined Log Cabin Republicans' Spirit of Lincoln gala held at Mar-a-Lago, where he told the audience, "We are fighting for the gay community, and we are fighting and fighting hard."
