Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown backstage at The Presidential Candidate Forum. (Steve Pope/Getty Images for GLAAD)
No sooner had the LGBT+ Presidential Forums begun that speakers lit into US president Donald Trump, and one who ripped into him was Karamo Brown.
The Queer Eye star excoriated the Trump administration at the event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which gathered 10 presidential hopefuls to discuss LGBTQ issues.
Brown, wearing a blue ampersand pin from GLAAD which signifies togetherness, ripped into White House lawmakers for promoting division over diversity.
“It is no secret that President Trump and his administration are not friends of the LGBTQ community,” says Karamo Brown.
Amid White House policy-makers banning trans troops from serving and rescinding the rights of LGBT+ citizens, Brown and many other speakers at the forum took aim without compromise.
Brown said: “It is no secret that President Trump and his administration are not friends of the LGBTQ community.”
“It’s not just Donald Trump who is the problem, it’s the people surrounding him,”
“The rhetoric coming from the White House that is meant to divide our nation and target marginalized communities has to stop. And it is time for all marginalized communities to stand united.”
“The 2020 presidential election is too important for the LGBTQ community, for the black community, and for those Americans like me who live at the intersection to be silent,” he continued. ”
“We need to be loud and proud.
“Tonight is all about giving us the tools to let our friends and family know what is at stake.”
Queer Eye star has surprising ties with the Trump White House.
Brown’s speech is fresh off the back of the actor defending Trump’s former press secretary, Sean Spicer.
In an interview with Access Hollywood, Brown described Spicer as “nice” and “very sweet”.
“I’m a big believer that if you can talk to someone and meet in the middle, you can learn about each other and help each other both grow,” he said.
“We have been chatting all day today – he’s a good guy, a really sweet guy.”
Spicer will appear on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars for the show’s 28th season, alongside Brown.
The Queer Eye star responded to a Twitter user’s criticism that he was “lending his celebrity” to the “public rehabilitation” of Spicer, who came under scrutiny for lying on behalf of the Trump administration during his time as press secretary.
While Brown has not been forthright in his political position, he has, on occasion, visited the White House–meeting with office aides–as well as skipping a visit to Capital Hill with his co-stars who met Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi i