Overview
- At the International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference in Washington, Joe Biden accepted the Victory Institute’s Chris Abele Impact Award and warned that recent progress is at risk under President Trump.
- Biden accused the Trump-Vance administration of targeting LGBTQ communities, citing reports of anti-trans policies, funding cuts to LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS programs, and the government’s failure to mark World AIDS Day.
- He highlighted his record, including executive actions expanding nondiscrimination protections, the repeal of restrictions on transgender military service with subsequent pardons, and the Respect for Marriage Act.
- Framing the moment as a call to organize, he urged donors, activists, and candidates to “get up and fight back,” saying Republicans have distorted the fight for equality and turned identity into a political weapon.
- He situated the appeal in a personal arc from a 1996 DOMA vote to a 2012 endorsement of marriage equality and made a rare public appearance following a May prostate cancer diagnosis and October radiation therapy.