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| Bill White and Bryan Eure (via Instagram) |
The New York Times has profiled Donald Trump supporters Bill White and his husband Bryan Eure, with the primary interest in the couple being they are that rare breed of openly-gay Trumpers.
In fact, they are organizing a $5 million fund-raiser for the Trumpster this winter and boast about having Don Trump Jr. on speed dial.
But that wasn’t always the case.
For years they enjoyed being a part of Manhattan’s liberal elite.
They supported both of Hillary Clinton’s bids for president quite whole-heartedly, paid Aretha Franklin to sing at their 2011 wedding, and even hosted President Obama at a high-end $39,500-a-plate fund-raiser at their townhouse in Manhattan’s uber-gay neighborhood, Chelsea.
But, per the New York Times, on election night November 8, 2016, while standing among the Hillary supporters in what everyone expected to be a celebration, White saw the writing on the wall in the election returns.
Without missing a beat, he jumped in his car and drove to the New York Hilton, where Trump was celebrating the surprise win.
“I didn’t want to be part of that misery pie; I’m not a wallower in self-pity,” White told the New York Times. “I really believe that once that decision is made, you have to get behind your president.”
Mr. Eure, a commercial insurance broker and a longtime Republican, was happy for the change of heart by his husband.
From that point on, it seems the duo have no problem explaining away any perceived negatives of the president.
When it comes to the many ways Trump’s administration has attacked or pared back LGBTQ protections, Eure waves off the accusations saying, “I don’t like identity politics.”
This from the the man who is married to his husband only because of the progress made by liberal Democratic politicians and activists.
When someone brings up the many lies of Trump, despite actual facts and video tape to prove such falsehoods, Eure dismisses the issue as mere “embellishments.”
“Exaggerations,” White adds. “He’s the marketer in chief for the United States. So what?”
Their drinking of the Trump kool-aid has earned them the ire of former friends with whom the couple used to hob-nob among.
Even Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton says, “They ran to the other end of the spectrum and then walked off the ledge.”
“Our democracy has been set on fire by this president, and they want what, an invite to Mar-a-Lago?” Merrill added.
In fact, access seems to be very important to White and Eure.
The Times article recounts an episode earlier this year at Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar in Midtown Manhattan where the two men couldn’t seem to get Chelsea Clinton’s attention across the room.
Incensed, White pulled out his phone and called Donald Trump Jr. According to White, Junior immediately offered to come right over.
Pleased with the answer, White explained, “Trump picks up on the first ring. If you want to get to Chelsea Clinton, you have to call through five people.”
Mr. Eure shares the story of the time he was traveling to Philadelphia to attend the former Secretary of State’s address at the Democratic National Convention.
As part of the story, he includes how the day’s inclement weather forced him to ‘borrow’ a friend’s helicopter. But upon arriving, they rushed to greet Clinton only to be blocked by a campaign official.
“This was about because we didn’t write a $25,000 check,” Eure explains of the late campaign timing.
But the Clinton campaign remembers the story differently.
“Some people give their time and resources to causes and candidates for the right reasons, some don’t,” said Merrill. “No better indication of which case this is than to watch a guy decide to embrace Trump and all he stands for because he couldn’t get his picture taken one night.”
It’s worth noting that the Times piece almost glosses over the fact that White, a former president of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Manhattan, suddenly resigned from his position in 2008 and was forced to pay $1 million restitution after the state of New York had begun an investigation into whether he might have engaged in unlicensed commercial fund-raising.
Along the way, White and Eure show little concern for the damage Donald Trump has done and will continue to do to the LGBTQ community.
From removing all mention of LGBTQ people from the official White House website within hours of Trump taking office, to attempting to remove all transgender military service members, to the recent leaked memo that details plans to ‘redefine’ trans people out of existence, these two don’t care as long as they have their access.
Just to show how the couple flip-flops from power center to power center, here they are happy to pose with President Obama at the Broadway musical, Hamilton:
Longtime LGBTQ activist and journalist Michelangelo Signorile chimed in on Twitter about the couple:
These people are vile, despicable gay men, supporting a man taking away their own people's rights, and the rights of others, basically because they are greedy bastards ---> How a Liberal Couple Became Two of N.Y.’s Biggest Trump Supporters https://t.co/EgTaTCxSOr— Michelangelo Signorile (@MSignorile) November 26, 2018
Actually, if you read the story, it’s beyond greed — it’s not about money. They’re just craven opportunists who want access to and accolades from whoever is the “winner.” Could be a progressive leader — could be a fascist. As long as they get star treatment. Vile.— Michelangelo Signorile (@MSignorile) November 26, 2018
(h/t New York Times)
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six paragraphs from the bottom we finally get to something that should have been in the headline: this dude paid a million dollars in restitution for taking bribes from hedge funds who wanted in on the state pension fund when he worked for jailbird NYC comptroller Alan Hevesi pic.twitter.com/d2snGO5YgM
— Yuletide Honey-Glazed Sam (@samthielman) November 26, 2018
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