Grenell, a longtime Republican activist and foreign policy expert, served in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet as acting National Director of Intelligence. He had previously been the ambassador to Germany, where he criticized Germany’s reluctance to honor its funding commitments to NATO and urged Germany to confront Iranian terror and end its dependence on Russian gas for its energy supply.
The walkout by Democrats, including State Senate President pro Tem Tori Atkins (D-San Diego) and State Sen.
June 28, 2023
Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), the author of California’s most controversial legislation on LGBT issues, was viewed as a reciprocal gesture after Republicans walked out on a ceremony honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a drag group that often mocks the Catholic Church, earlier this month.
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Wiener, who is openly gay, criticized Grenell, calling him a “self-hating gay man” who takes “anti-LGBTQ positions.” He added that “there are plenty of gay Republicans who don’t do the unhinged things that [Grenell] does. I’m not lumping all gay Republicans together — he is a particularly vile person.”
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At a news conference outside the Capitol held by state Republicans to celebrate Grenell, the former Trump administration official lambasted Democratic policies and what he called “the gay left mafia.” Grenell said, “Inherent in the word ‘tolerance’ is ‘tolerate.’ It doesn’t mean you agree with it, it means that you tolerate someone else’s opinion. That means that you don’t get up and walk out when they are being honored. …They just couldn’t be in the same room as someone who annihilates their world view.”
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The Los Angeles Times, which covered the event, took several digs at Grenell in its coverage, such as noting that Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the second openly gay Cabinet member, was confirmed by the Senate.
Grenell responded to Wiener and other critics on Twitter, saying, “The gay left mafia wants to cancel anyone who disagrees with them. They can’t tolerate diversity of thought, so they try to cancel anyone who they disagree with. It’s wrong. We need to have a robust debate about policy issues. And name-calling and cancel culture is not the way to do it.”
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Grenell’s reference to “pedophilia” has to do with a controversial law Wiener authored that reduces penalties for some cases of statutory rape involving gay men.
As a result of the walkout, the ceremony was cut short, and Grenell was unable to deliver his remarks. The incident highlights the deepening political divide in California, where Democrats hold a supermajority in both houses of the state legislature and control all statewide offices.
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