That is a false article!
Donald Trump Gave Money to LGBT Groups, But It's Not What You Thinkhttp://www.advocate.com/election/2016/3/08/donald-trump-gave-money-lgbt-groups-its-not-what-you-thinkTo some, it might look like Donald Trump gave thousands of dollars to two LGBT groups, which is sure to perk the ears of Ted Cruz and other social conservatives. But a document showing the donations doesn't tell the whole story.
A 2012 tax return from the Donald J. Trump Foundation has been floating around online, even being shared by the Log Cabin Republicans, and without any context, it gives the impression that Trump provided $30,000 in charitable donations to LGBT organizations. Posted by Crain's New York in 2015, the document shows the following donations:
But singer Aubrey O'Day and comedian Lisa Lampanelli are really responsible for getting Trump to sign checks to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network and GMHC. They were contestants on the 2012 season of The Celebrity Apprentice, a version of his NBC reality show, and selected the charities for their winnings.GLSEN spokeswoman Kari Hudnell confirmed to The Advocate that the group receieved a $20,000 contribution from the Donald J. Trump Foundation. "In 2012, we did receive money from the Trump Foundation," Hudnell said. "It was all in relation to Aubrey O'Day appearing on Celebrity Apprentice. She was playing to benefit GLSEN."
The contribution to GMHC on behalf of the Trump Foundation also comes from The Celebrity Apprentice. A GMHC spokesperson issued this statement to The Advocate:
“GMHC was honored that Lisa Lampanelli — a longtime GMHC supporter — chose us as her charity in 2012 on Celebrity Apprentice. In total, Ms. Lampanelli raised $130,000 on the show for GMHC, with a $10,000 match from Trump, a routine part of the show during its respective seasons. We are glad Ms. Lampanelli helped to raise much-needed funds to support our care and advocacy services for thousands of men, women and families affected by HIV/AIDS.”
The Republican presidential front-runner has recently been attacked by opponents such as Cruz over whether he's conservative enough, with the Texas senator calling Trump weak on same-sex marriage. For the record, Trump has never supported marriage equality. But he's sent mixed signals to voters by saying both that he supports "traditional" marriage and that he respects the Supreme Court's marriage equality decision in Obergefell v. Hodges — confusion which the Log Cabin Republicans called out in a video the group posted Monday.
The video addresses Trump, asking, "Where Do You Really Stand on Marriage Equality?" An article from the Christian News Network is shown on-screen with the headline "Trump Taxes Reveal Donations to Gay Activists" — a reference to the Celebrity Apprentice donations.
Log Cabin has also posted on its official Facebook page a link to the Trump tax return showing the donations.
"It's a good sign that Mr. Trump has provided financial support to LGBT charities in the past," said Log Cabin president Gregory T. Angelo.
After being told that those contributions in 2012 came from Donald Trump's foundation because of Lampanelli and O'Day, Angelo said, "The check said Trump Foundation. You can't really spin your way out of that. I don't think Trump can say that he didn't give to those organizations."
Angelo was also critical of the groups for "distancing themselves" from Trump's money.
"It's a little disingenuous for those organizations, who gladly accepted money from the Trump Foundation, to try to distance themselves from those donations," he said.
