Washington Blade: “First lady Melania Trump said she wanted to light up the White House in rainbow colors for LGBTQ Pride Month in June, but the plan never came to fruition at a time when Mark Meadows as chief of staff played a role in blocking any sign of solidarity with the LGBTQ community, according to two Republican sources familiar with her plans who spoke exclusively to the Washington Blade. Meadows had a significant role, one Republican source said on condition of anonymity, in ensuring the Trump White House ignored Pride Month, which is why President Trump didn’t send out a tweet to recognize the annual LGBTQ celebration as he did in 2019.”

“It wasn’t immediately clear whether Meadows weighed in specifically on shutting down the rainbow lighting proposal at the White House. Had the first lady succeeded in lighting the White House in rainbow colors, it would have been the first time that occurred since the Obama administration lit up the building after the Supreme Court ruling for same-sex marriage in 2015. Such a move by Trump would have symbolized a tremendous change for the Republican Party, which has a long history of animosity toward LGBTQ people. Melania Trump ended up signaling support for the LGBTQ community months later just before the election in a video for Outspoken, the media project for Log Cabin Republicans, in contrast to Meadows, who has publicly railed against same-sex marriage and built an anti-LGBTQ record in Congress.”