Virginia Beach – an independent city, not part of a territory or county – elected Trump (98,224 votes) over Clinton (91,032 votes) by a margin of 7,192 votes. In the 2016 Presidential election, Virginia’s Second Congressional District – Presler’s district – elected Trump (156,283 votes) over Clinton (145,171 votes). I get exercise, I get sun, I meet new people and I support our president – honestly, it’s a lot of fun.” “Now my neighbors know me by name – I am the Trump sign guy. “I’ve made so many friends, I’ve met all of my neighbors – like Ted and Zach,” said Presler. That would be Presler, who takes every opportunity he can to advocate for not only the president, but congressional GOP candidates and other, more local candidates. If you live in Virginia Beach or frequent the area, I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me you saw a man with flowing brown locks running with a big, bright “Trump” sign affixed to his back. “I think we all owe a debt of gratitude to Trump for what he has done – and is doing – for the LGBT community.”īuilding on success in 2016 to secure wins in 2018 Trump changed the Republican Party forever by naming radical Islamic terrorism as a threat to the LGBT community and vowing to protect us – and following through on that promise,” Presler noted. “Trump changed the Republican Party forever when he got up on stage in Colorado with the pride flag. Presler recounted the feelings of that day and told me he felt obligated to come out and fight for real changes that truly protect the lives of gay Americans. It actually was Pulse that was the breaking point for Presler and the reason he came out as a gay man. We were both deeply affected by the Pulse nightclub tragedy and are both still concerned by the mainstream LGBT community’s refusal to name the issue of Islamist terrorism. We both saw that the Trump agenda included measures of protection to make sure that the people coming into our country support do not pose a risk to the LGBT community. Presler and I have similar reasons for becoming Republicans as well. When Trump defeated Clinton in by winning 306 Electoral College votes, it suddenly became acceptable to harass and degrade gay conservatives. We also both continue to face backlash and hate from the mainstream LGBT community. The similarities between Presler and I do not end with finding support from the political right. For about a year before I came out, I was preparing conservatives through my posts that you can be a gay Republican, and worked toward changing the some of the misperceptions the GOP had in the past when it comes to the LGBT community.” “Part of that comes from the following on social media that I built over the last few years. “When I came out as gay, I had an army of Republicans and Trump supporters behind me,” said Presler. In my isolation period, I searched for others like me to connect with, but the results were limited and mostly frivolous social media connections with gays hundreds of miles away.Įnter Scott Presler, a young, gay Republican from Virginia Beach who spent the last two years of his life working to defeat Hillary Clinton. Presler is a human rights activist and the Vice Chairman of the Virginia Beach Young Republicans. Those that are familiar with my story know that I felt pressure to hide my conservative thinking and when I came out as a Republican, the left made me a public enemy. Until recently, the LGBT community was all but silenced by their own community and that of the political left.
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