Donald Trump has established a history of acceptance of gay people, which runs counter to many views in the Republican Party.
"He will be the most gay-friendly Republican nominee for president ever," Gregory T. Angelo, president of the Log Cabin Republicans,
told the New York Times.
Trump has gone on the record for his support for LGBT people. He said on the "Today" show that transgender people should
"use the bathroom they feel is appropriate."
Trump donated to AIDS crisis charities in the 1980s and 1990s, according to the Times. In 1992, he hosted a Trump Taj Mahal benefit that raised $60,000 for AIDS research.
In 2000, he did an interview with the
gay magazine The Advocate in which he called for amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
"It would be simple. It's only fair," he said in the interview.
His support of gay people could be a result of his presence in the New York social scene and the entertainment world.
In a 2011 700 Club interview Trump said, "I live in New York. I know many, many gay people. Tremendous people."
Trump's friends say he views gay rights from a business perspective.
"His key concern is, are you capable and able to do the job I hired you for?" Abe Wallach, an openly gay executive who worked for Trump in the 1990s, told the Times.
Trump is believed to be the first private club owner in Palm Beach, Fla. to admit openly gay couples.
"He really changed the nature of Palm Beach," author Laurence Leamer told the Times.
LifeSite News reported in February that Trump told a gay reporter, "We're going to bring people together. And if we don't, we're not going to have a country anymore."
However, Trump retains his views against gay marriage. "Star Trek" actor George Takei told the Times that Trump asked to meet with him to discuss the issue, but after their meeting, Trump remained a supporter of "traditional marriage."
"I was tempted to say, marrying multiple times is not traditional marriage. He's a chameleon or a hypocrite, whichever word you like."
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