Pattie Gonia has revealed that “almost all” their family allegedly voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 United States presidential election. She has responded by sharing a stark reminder for the LGBTQ+ community.
The drag queen and environmental activist, who was included in an anti-trans advert by the Trump campaign, discovered that their close family allegedly voted for the Republican presidential nominee.
“[Almost] all of my extended family voted for Trump,” Pattie wrote via a 5 November statement on Instagram. “Sometimes people aren’t open to changing their mind, even with hours of conversation and having a relationship with someone.
“And in my case, their own family member was used in an attack ad that spewed hate, homophobia and transphobia, and they still voted for that man,” they wrote.
Pattie went on to remind themselves and their followers “that if you go home for the holidays this year, let’s not sit at the adults’ table. Let’s sit at the kids’ table. That’s how we’re going to change things.”
She added: “It’s also okay if you don’t go home for the holidays. Who we share blood with are our relatives, but we get to choose who we call family. So please spend the holidays with people who love you and don’t vote against your equal rights.
“Sometimes you can’t fix stupid people,” they concluded.
The advert in question was shared on Trump’s social media channels and repeated his claims that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris supports taxpayer-funded gender-affirming care for prison inmates and undocumented immigrants.
The commercial also features images and clips of notable LGBTQ+ figures – including Harris posing for pictures with Pattie, with the tagline: “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.” Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness was also used in the same anti-trans messaging by the Trump campaign.
Responding to the advert, Pattie told Van Ness on a recent episode of the Pretty Curious podcast that it was “crazy” that the Trump campaign featured “two incredibly successful, active community members that are trying to do good in this world”.
She said: “That speaks volumes as well. They know that hate is a powerful motivator. I try to not opt into that, I think it’s really dangerous.”
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