Andy Ogles, a Republican congressman from Tennessee, chose an unorthodox way to mark Pride month yesterday: by tweeting, “Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month.”
The backlash was swift and came from all quarters, even Ogles’s fellow Republicans. “The behavior of consenting adults is their business,” Senator Ted Cruz said. “Andy, you have family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and constituents who are gay and lesbian,” tweeted Representative Mike Lawler. “What an absolutely idiotic statement to make.” Some of those colleagues include Trump appointees such as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg, as well as the President’s top pollster Tony Fabrizio.
Then came the climbdown. “Earlier today while working on the farm, my phone began going crazy because of a post made by a member of my comms team,” Ogles posted yesterday evening. “The post was stupid, hurtful and a complete distraction from my America First focus. The employee has been reprimanded.”
Response to his retraction has been mixed. A number of people seem confident that the “member” of his “comms team” who has been thrown under the bus is fictitious. “I’ve found a picture of the alleged employee,” one profile commented with a picture of Ogles. “Please make sure he is reprimanded appropriately.”
