Ric Grenell Refuses To Answer Questions About Global Initiative To Decriminalize Homosexuality
- By
- Carlos Santoscoy
- | September 05, 2020
During a White House briefing on Friday, Richard Grenell refused to answer a reporter's question about the Trump administration's global initiative to decriminalize homosexuality.
Grenell, who is gay, is the former acting director of national intelligence and ambassador to Germany. He is also head of the Trump campaign's outreach to LGBT voters.
Grenell was asked by the New York Post's Steven Nelson about the initiative, which appears to have fizzled, while announcing a Serbia-Kosovo agreement the Trump administration facilitated. Instead of answering the question, Grenell scolded reporters.
“I'm going to just talk about Kosovo and Serbia,” Grenell is quoted as saying by the Washington Blade. “I don't know if you can find it on a map, but this is atrocious. I have to tell you guys. You might be too young to understand what this issue is about. Maybe the older journalists should step and say, 'This is a big deal. This is a big issue.'”
“Get substantive. Maybe it's too complicated of an issue for you all.”
“We're getting the same questions that are all politics. You guys don't understand what's happening outside of Washington, D.C. People aren't listening to you anymore. It's really a crisis in journalism,” he added.
The Blade pointed out that the Serbia-Kosovo deal includes a pledge by both parties to “work with the 69 countries that criminalize homosexuality to push for decriminalization.” Journalists also said that they had not had an opportunity to review the agreement.
In a video posted online as the Republican National Convention (RNC) was taking place, Grenell praised President Donald Trump as the “most pro-gay president” in American history. The Washington Post called the statement “an absurd lie.”
(Related: Following video praising Trump as pro-gay, Grenell mum on being gay in RNC speech.)