In the wake of Sunday’s mass shooting inside a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has vowed to use the power of her office to go after those who try to inflict harm on the LGBT community. This is despite the fact that Bondi’s career has been marked by her repeated efforts to block gay marriage in the state.
On Tuesday, CNN’s Anderson Cooper had the opportunity to confront her over the apparent hypocrisy, or what he described as “sick irony.”
“Do you really think you’re a champion of gay rights?” he asked at one point, refusing to let Bondi off the hook for nearly five straight minutes.
“I’ve never heard you say anything positive about gays before.”
The tense confrontation comes amid similar attempts by some Republican politicians, including Donald Trump, to suddenly paint themselves as gay rights advocates—despite their official stances on the issue:
Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2016
Other Republican politicians have tried to express their condolences to the victims in Sunday’s tragedy, without acknowledging the fact that those who were killed were specifically targeted because of their sexual orientation.
“They are citizens of Florida just like anyone else,” Bondi told Anderson on Tuesday. “That’s what this is about.”
