Trump Administration Denies Requests From U.S. Embassies to Fly Rainbow Pride Flags During Pride Month

The Trump administration is denying requests from U.S. embassies looking to fly the rainbow pride flag on flagpoles in celebration of LGBTQ Pride Month in June.

According to NBC News, U.S. embassies in Israel, Germany, Brazil, and Latvia have all been denied permission from Washington D.C. to fly the pride flag this month.

The rejection came to a surprise to many,  after Trump announced plans to decriminalize homosexuality overseas in a statement on Twitter on May 31.

“As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals based on their sexual orientation,” Trump wrote.

“My Administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and invite all nations to join us in this effort,” he added.

Trump received backlash following denied requests and his tweet supporting the LGBTQ community, especially after he banned transgender troops from enlisting in the army.

During the Obama administration, embassies overseas were allowed to fly the pride flag in June, but this year embassies were told that requests to fly it on the flagpole had to be approved. However, the Trump administration has approved the flag to displayed on other places, such as inside embassies.

At this time, no requests to fly the pride flag have been approved, but that hasn’t stopped all embassies. Seoul, South Korea found a creative way to celebrate pride month, hanging a large rainbow banner from the side of the building

The Trump administration has yet to comment.  

Retonjah Burdette

Retonjah Burdette is a publicist and published content curator from Atlanta, Georgia. After receiving her Bachelor’s in Public Relations from Georgia Southern University in 2017, Burdette then went on to get field experience with one of the top entertainment PR firms in Atlanta. Since the start of her career, Burdette has worked with a number of actors, authors, entrepreneurs and independent artists. She has secured placements on media outlets such as TV One’s Sister Circle, Good Day Atlanta on FOX, V-103, CBS 46, Kontrol Magazine, KISS 104.1 and Rolling Out to name a few. In addition to her growth in PR, she is currently a writer for Baller Alert, a top platform for news and entertainment. In hopes of bringing the visions of others to life, she launched Girl Avant-Garde in 2019, a creative agency specializing in innovative content, branding and PR in entertainment. Her overall goal is to have autonomy over her creative thought process and to teach branding to new entrepreneurs and others pursuing a career in the public eye.

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