Spencer Macnaughton | Uncloseted Media Weekly Newsletter | Subscriber Reactions to Gays for Trump Interview
Over the weekend, we published an interview with Peter Boykin, the Founder of Gays for Trump. It was by far the most-read story we’ve published so far, and we received a lot of feedback. Some readers felt it was the most important and interesting story we have done because they heard from someone typically only seen on right-wing, uber-MAGA channels. They were grateful to learn about where Boykin was coming from: How can he be gay and still love Trump?
Even if Boykin’s response didn’t make sense to the readers, they were grateful to feel a bit more informed by someone’s POV that is typically left out of queer publications entirely. Boykin also spoke to infighting among LGBTQ Trump supporters and talked about how he believes Trump is “talking to the wrong people” and needs to stop all the “social conservative B.S.”
Other readers felt we shouldn’t be platforming folks like Boykin at all. They felt I should have pushed back on him more aggressively. Some folks on Reddit even asked for Uncloseted to be banned (i.e., canceled) because Boykin has used anti-LGBTQ language in the past.
Finding the tone of a new journalism publication is very difficult. Finding the tone of a new LGBTQ news publication is even more challenging. Our ultimate goal with any story is: “Will readers be interested?” And “Will it inform them about the people, the money, and the power fueling America’s anti-LGBTQ ecosystem?”
We promise to do our best and always look to challenge our sources. Can we do better? Always. Do we welcome your feedback? Always!
Our ultimate goal is to break out of the queer media echo chamber and reach all Americans in all 50 states. To do that, engaging with folks of all perspectives rather than omitting half the country’s views from our reporting is a critical part of that. As one journalist told me this week, “Refusing to cover Boykin won’t hurt him. Rather, it hurts the people trying to defeat him because they won’t have the relevant information to help them do that.”
Bessent Makes History at Treasury as Highest-ranking LGBTQ Official (The Hill)
On Monday, the Senate confirmed billionaire hedge fund manager and investor Scott Bessent as President Trump’s Treasury secretary, making him the highest-ranking LGBTQ official in the nation’s history.
Trump Signs Order to End Federal Support for Care for Transgender Minors (CBS)
On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order aimed at cutting federal support for certain types of gender-affirming care for people under age 19, his latest move to roll back protections for transgender people across the country.
Anti-HIV program in crisis as Trump aid pause sows confusion (The Washington Post)
The State Department issued a waiver for lifesaving aid, but HIV clinics remain shut, and uncertainty lingers over the future of PEPFAR, which has saved 25 million lives.
Transgender Service Members Challenge Trump's Military Ban (NBC)
GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a federal suit on behalf of six transgender service members and two trans people seeking to enlist.
State Department Suspends Processing Passport Applications with ‘X’ Gender Marker (CNN)
The move aligns with an executive order signed by Trump last week that says it is US government policy “to recognize two sexes, male and female” and that “these sexes are not changeable.”
I was profiled by Vada Magazine this week to talk about why I started Uncloseted and the urgent need for independent LGBTQ journalism—especially as we head into a second Trump presidency. Check out the full interview here!
Alaina Kupec, a military veteran and Founder of GRACE, a trans advocacy organization, told us about how Trump’s transgender military ban is affecting her and her family:
“We are seriously evaluating leaving the country I fought to defend … here we [are again with] an administration that is purposely dehumanizing me and my community. And that is how it starts.
But it won't end here. Marriage equality is in jeopardy in states like Idaho and others. These attacks have started with the smallest and least visible of the LGBTQ community. But it is their first step. And people are standing by and saying nothing to defend my right to exist. So mark my words, the world will look back and one day recognize it started with the transgender community, and far too many are saying nothing. This is not who we are as a country. At least not what I thought we were. So I am left with shock and sadness. But after the last eight years, not surprised.”
We passed 5,000 subscribers this week! Thank you to everyone who has subscribed, commented, shared, and read our work.
This weekend, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting:
🆕 So often, the legislation and the policy we investigate affect LGBTQ youth, and yet we rarely hear from them directly. This weekend, we’re passing the mic to six queer youth to hear their thoughts on being an LGBTQ kid in the U.S. in 2025.
🆕 Black women in the U.S. are contracting HIV at an alarming rate—ten times higher than their white counterparts. Why? In this eye-opening investigation, we follow the stories of women like Kennedi Lowman and Mia Allison, whose unexpected diagnoses changed their lives. Experts say systemic racism, medical bias, stigma, and lack of targeted prevention efforts are key factors driving this crisis.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints, tips, and story ideas!
Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief
spencer@unclosetedmedia.com
If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:
"Most-read story we’ve published so far"
You're doing just fine. You are reaching people, and that is important. Keep doing what you are doing, and do it as hard as journalism can be done. Journalism isn't about telling people what they want to hear; it's often telling them about things they they don't want to hear. Sometimes you may not like people in your community but even the pariah is part of the whole, and no sane person jumps back into the river if they dislike the person that pulled them out of it. We need to be able to band together and stop being the snowflakes because the opposition is coming to tear us apart. That is their goal. If we start excluding people from the alphabet we are made smaller, weaker, and easier to pick off, and make no mistake they are coming for all of us.
God, I am so tired of echo chamber discourse! I don’t have to sit down and debate my humanity with people who want to kill me in order to understand why they want to kill me, or how to defeat them. Nor do I need to read about it when someone else decides to wade in to the shit with them.
While Boykin is not exactly one of those people, he is a Trump activist/cultist who is dedicated to enabling them at any cost (remember, he thinks Democrats will Destroy America TM). I feel it’s largely pointless and potentially harmful to engage with someone who has staked so much of their identity and energy into advocating for this shitty guy. I see much greater potential in talking to “average” people who voted Trump, if you seek to understand other perspectives. Simply sharing a presidential voting record does not mean that this specific activist represents anywhere near 50% of our country, and courting him does not necessarily give you better access to them.
I want to keep subbing but this obsession with “non-partisan” posturing is frankly too tiresome. Not that I expect anyone really cares, at this point I’m just going off in a barren comment section for my own gratification lol. Best of luck with the publication.