HOT TOPICS | Donald Trump's Summer Celebrations Are Falling Apart!

Don Lemon, referencing an Atlantic article titled "The King of Queens," highlights Donald Trump's documented admiration for "handsome men" (calling 68 men and 2 turkeys "handsome" in his second term), his love for camp culture (YMCA, Elton John, Studio 54, Liberace-esque interiors), and his plan for a UFC octagon with "muscular men" for his 80th birthday. This personal aesthetic is presented as a stark contradiction to his administration's policies, which systematically stripped rights from LGBTQ+ people and refused to acknowledge Pride Month.

The Atlantic counted the number of times that Donald Trump called another man handsome in his second term alone... 68 times... not counting the two Thanksgiving turkeys he also called handsome, which brings a grand total to 69. This is a man who dances at YMCA to the YMCA at every single rally. He told Fox News himself that YMCA is the gay national anthem... He is obsessed with Elton John. He was friends with Liza Minnelli... His interiors a Liberaceesque. He spent his formative years at Studio 54... His favorite sport to watch is mixed martial arts, which is, as The Atlantic notes, basically sweaty semi naked men. He banned transgender people from the military. He rescended non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ youth in schools.

Trump's planned "Great American State Fair" to celebrate America's 250th anniversary is "falling apart" as major artists like Morris Day and the Time, The Commodores, Young MC, Martina McBride, and Brett Michaels pulled out. Artists cited a "bait and switch," believing they were signing up for a non-partisan "America 250" event, not Trump's politically affiliated "Freedom 250." With only Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida remaining, Trump announced he would replace the entire concert with himself.

Morris Day and the Time out. The Commodores out. Young MC out. Martina McBride out. Brett Michaels out... Every artist said the same thing. It was a bait and switch... What remains of America's 250th birthday celebration under the Washington Monument? Vanilla Ice... and possibly Flo. He announced that he's going to replace the entire concert with himself.

The host and guests argue that Trump desires the "benefits of a country and culture that queer people helped create" (the aesthetics, music, and camp) while simultaneously advancing policies that make those same people "less safe every day." This is extended to black culture as well, where Trump is seen as wanting the "music, the aesthetic" but not the equal rights for the people who created it.

He wants the benefits of a country and culture that queer people helped create while advancing policies that make those same people less safe every day... He wants the culture. He wants the music. He wants the aesthetic. the ballroom, the Elton John, the Studio 54, YMCA at the rallies, the gilded everything, the muscular men in cages. He wants all of it. He just does not want the people who created all of it to have equal rights.