President Donald Trump has agreed to deliver a commencement speech at anti-LGBT Liberty University later this year.
In a statement to the Christian Broadcasting Network, Trump said he is looking forward to “speaking to this amazing group of students on such a momentous occasion.”
“Our children truly are the future and I look forward to celebrating the success of this graduating class as well as sharing lessons as they embark on their next chapter full of hope, faith, optimism, and a passion for life.”
Self-described as the “largest private Christian university in the world,” Liberty was founded in 1971 by well-known homophobe Jerry Falwell. Since its founding, the university has practiced open discrimination against the LGBT community.
In 2006, the school banned all LGBT student groups on the basis of “morality.” In 2014, the university filed for exemption from federal anti-discrimination laws so it could continue to implement its anti-LGBT policies.
These policies include a contract all students are forced to sign in which they pledge not to engage in any same-sex activity: “Sexual relations outside of a Biblically ordained marriage between a natural-born man and natural-born woman are not permissible at Liberty University.”
For their part, students and staff at Liberty are thrilled about the president’s upcoming speech.
“His supporters, including over 80% of the evangelical community, are thrilled with President Trump’s actions so far,” Jerry Falwell Jr., the school’s current president, told Christian Broadcasting Network.
“The fact that the mainstream media and the Establishment [on the left and the right] remain in attack mode with their often baseless and dishonest claims against Trump is a sign that President Trump is doing a wonderful job.”
h/t: Gaily Grind