Dems hit Trump, Rubio for meeting with ‘anti-gay extremists’

The leaders of the Democratic National Committee and the DNC’s LGBT Caucus on Thursday blasted Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for meeting with “anti-gay extremists” in Orlando, Fla.

{mosads}DNC Chairwoman Donna Brazile and DNC LGBT Caucus Chairman Earl Fowlkes issued a statement calling for Trump and Rubio to disavow the American Renewal Project, the group hosting the evangelical event. They accuse the GOP politicians of supporting a group that “likened gay people to Nazis and characterized HIV/AIDS as divine ‘penalties’ for being gay.”

“Instead of honoring the memory of those we lost at Pulse two months ago, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio have come to Orlando to headline a gathering of some of the nation’s most incendiary anti-gay bigots,” Brazile and Fowlkes said, referencing a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in June.

“We at the DNC join all people of good conscience in expressing our solidarity with the Orlando LGBT community as they continue to grieve the deadliest shooting in American history,” they added.

“We suggest Trump and Rubio disavow these anti-gay extremists. … Failing to do so will be yet another example of the utter lack of judgment that makes Trump unfit to serve.”

Rubio defended the group, saying that it is nothing more than a gathering of religious leaders and pastors.

“The event I will be speaking at in Orlando is a gathering of local pastors and faith leaders. Leave it to the media and liberal activists to label a gathering of faith leaders as an anti-LGBT event. It is nothing of the sort. It is a celebration of faith,” Rubio said last week.

“Because I believe that a strong America is not possible without strong families and strong values, for years now I have participated in events hosted by faith leaders to speak about the cultural and social issues before America, including the importance of parents and families, religious liberties and combatting poverty,” he added.

Both Trump and Rubio are scheduled to speak at the Thursday event, which will likely give them an opportunity to gain evangelical support.

Rubio faces a tough reelection race against the winner of the Democratic primary between Reps. Patrick Murphy and Alan Grayson, while Trump has struggled to solidify his support among evangelical conservatives.