Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) suggested this week that the United States maybe has already had a gay president, reviving a favorite speculation of the left that often substitutes identity politics for serious historical inquiry.
Speaking to a TMZ reporter on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, she was asked whether America would elect a female or gay president first. According to Breitbart, Ocasio-Cortez responded by musing about past presidents rather than addressing the question directly.
Well, we dont know if weve already had a gay president to be honest with you. I think there are chances that maybe we have but I dont know, she stated, offering no evidence for the claim. She later shared the video clip on social media and added a breezy caption: This was fun.
The notion of a gay president has long been a media trope used to flatter progressive icons and reframe American history through a sexual-identity lens. In 2012, a Newsweek cover famously labeled Barack Obama The First Gay President, a piece written by Andrew Sullivan and highlighted by Breitbart News.
The article, by Ben Shapiro, noted, Sullivan, who is gay, is the most ardent backer of President Obama imaginable; he largely switched parties because of the gay marriage issue. Sullivan is a personal favorite blogger of the White House. Now, hes portraying Obama as a religious figure, bathed in the glow of the same-sex marriage agenda.
Progressive activists have also tried to retrofit 19th-century figures into modern identity categories. Several years ago, a Discovery+ program for young viewers depicted Abraham Lincoln as a queer hero, a characterization Breitbart News reported had been rejected by serious historians.
Historians have repeatedly pushed back on efforts to sexualize Lincolns close friendship with Joshua Speed. In a 2017 interview with The Daily Beast, historian Charles Strozier said Lincolns relationship with his best friend Joshua Speed was not sexual as left-wing activists often try to claim.
I think the historical context is really important to understand, Strozier said. In the 19th century, the taboo of homosexuality is absolutely rigid. Whitman was gay. He had to stay in the closet. Sodomy, buggery, was illegal and severely prescribed.
But friendship, intimate, loving friendship like that between Lincoln and Speed, was not only accepted but encouraged as the long as the boundary against sexualization was rigidly and absolutely maintained, the historian explained, describing 19th century customs. While Ocasio-Cortez floats speculative narratives about past presidents, she is also facing scrutiny for reportedly spending over $2,000 in campaign funds on a celebrity makeup artist, despite previously boasting that she does her own makeup, as Breitbart News has reported.
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