President Trump’s attempts to emulate Barack Obama’s inaugurations largely fell flat.
He wanted record crowds, but was dwarfed by the Women’s March on Washington. He wanted A-list performers, but had to settle for Toby Keith. He wanted mass celebration, he got mass protests.
However, one thing he successfully borrowed from Obama was the former President’s incredible cake. Trump’s inauguration cake was an exact replica of the towering treat created by pastry chef Duff Goldman for Obama’s 2013 celebration. The only problem? Goldman didn’t make it.
The cake on the left is the one I made for President Obama's inauguration 4 years ago. The one on the right is Trumps. I didn't make it. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/qJXpCfPhii
Instead, Trump’s cake was crafted by D.C.’s Buttercream Bakeshop.
“They came to us a couple of weeks ago, which is pretty last minute, and said, ‘We have a photo that we would like to replicate,’” Tiffany MacIsaac, owner of the bakery, told the Washington Post.
She also revealed that, unlike Goldman’s creation, only the bottom layer — the one Trump is slicing into in the photo above — is edible. The rest of the cake is Styrofoam. (That Trump’s cake is all grandeur, no substance is somewhat fitting.)
While the nature of the cake’s creation is confusing, there is at least some good news: Donald Trump’s team has accidentally donated to an LGBT rights organization. In a post on Instagram, Buttercream Bakeshop revealed that the profits from the cake are being donated to the Human Rights Campaign.
The Trump administration canceled at least 68 grants to 46 institutions, totaling about $40 million, that had been awarded to study issues related to LGBTQ health.
Some of the grant money was already spent, but at least $1.36 million -- and likely more -- in future support has been pulled as part of the Trump administration's efforts to target what it calls "ideologically-driven" science.
That is part of a larger effort to purge the federal government of -- and to pressure the private sector to eliminate -- diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and programs, including anything that acknowledges the existence of transgender identity.
"This is about coming back home for me," Evan Low says of his new role as president and CEO of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and LGBTQ+ Victory Institute.
"Victory endorsed me as a candidate when I was 20 years old for City Council, back in 2004," the former California State Assemblymember says.
"I lost that first election, but Victory was there for me to help pick me up, catch me, and push me right along. I ran the next cycle, and I was successful at 23 years old. Victory helped invest in me to make me become the youngest openly LGBT Mayor at that time back in 2009."
A federal judge blocked Texas A&M University from banning a drag show from being held on any of the university's 11 campuses. The temporary preliminary injunction was issued on March 24 by Judge Lee Rosenthal of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
As a result, "Draggieland," a student-produced drag event, will go on as planned at the Rudder Theatre on the university's College Station campus this Thursday, March 27.
The pageant -- which has sold out the 750-seat Rudder Theatre every year since 2020 -- features contestants who wear clothing or makeup that often, but does not always, run counter to their gender identity. The contestants also dance and answer questions about what drag and LGBTQ culture means to them.
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