A bombshell draft document from 2020 has revealed a controversial and ultimately abandoned plan by Donald Trump's White House to officially declare San Francisco a 'sanctuary city' for LGBTQ+ people.
The leaked draft proclamation, obtained by The Independent, was never signed or released by the then-president. Dated for the June 2020 Pride Month, the move is widely interpreted by critics as a transparent and cynical attempt to court LGBTQ+ voters ahead of the November election, despite his administration's extensive record of rolling back protections for the community.
The document, titled 'Proclamation on San Francisco as a Sanctuary City for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Americans,' is a stark contradiction to the policies enacted during Trump's term. His administration famously banned transgender individuals from serving in the military and supported rights for businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people on religious grounds.
A Strategic Political Ploy
Political analysts suggest the move was a calculated effort to rebrand Trump as an ally to a key demographic and to drive a wedge within the Democratic electorate. The draft praises San Francisco's history as a 'haven for LGBTQ+ Americans' and bizarrely attempts to align the city's status with Trump's own 'sanctuary city' rhetoric, which was typically used to attack cities offering protections to undocumented immigrants.
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have reacted with scorn. A spokesperson for GLAAD called the draft 'a pathetic and desperate PR stunt from an administration that spent four years attacking the LGBTQ community.' They added, 'This was clearly designed to mislead voters and rewrite a horrific record of discrimination.'
Why the Proclamation Was Never Signed
Sources close to the matter suggest the draft was met with significant internal opposition. Key advisers within the West Wing argued that such a proclamation would only serve to anger and confuse Trump's conservative evangelical base, a crucial voting bloc, without guaranteeing any significant gain in LGBTQ+ support.
The document was subsequently shelved and never reached the president's desk for a signature, remaining a forgotten relic of the administration's final year until its recent discovery.
This revelation offers a rare glimpse into the often contradictory and politically motivated policy drafting process within the Trump White House, where electoral strategy frequently clashed with ideological consistency.
