In a move Evangelical voters may find disturbing, Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has promised to the American people will see "more forward motion" on "gay equality" under his presidency.
Last week, the GOP frontrunner was interviewed by Susan O'Connell, the publisher of Bay Windows, which according to its website is "New England's largest publication for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender readers."
"I'm a lesbian," she told Trump, according to a report from WND. "And we've had some great progress for the gay and lesbian community through politics, through all sorts of judicial actions and elected actions over the past 20 years. When President Trump is in office can we look for more forward motion on equality for gays and lesbians?"
"Well, you can," the billionaire businessman replied. "And look, again, we're going to bring people together. And that's your thing and other people have their thing. We have to bring all people together, and if we don't we're not going to have a country anymore. It's going to be a total mess. It's a mess right now, and it's going to be worse."
He added, "So, it's a very important choice this presidential year-very important-maybe the most important we've had in many, many decades. And I'm going to bring people together."
While Trump has previously voiced his opposition to same-sex marriage, he has also explained that he believes the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges is "the law of the land."
"You have to go with it. I mean, you have to go with it. The decision has been made, and that is the law of the land," he said last September when asked about the controversy surrounding Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, who refused to sign same-sex marriage licenses, as doing so violated her beliefs.
Meanwhile, speaking at the Carolina Values Summit at Winthrop University on Thursday, rival presidential hopeful Ted Cruz told an auditorium of conservative and evangelical voters that Marco Rubio and Trump have adopted the position of President Barack Obama on gay marriage.
According to Politico, the Texas senator said that the "lawless" decision by the Supreme Court to legalize gay marriage nationwide was "judicial activism."
He went on to indicate that Rubio and Trump, whom he did not identify by name but as his top two challengers, were weak in their opposition to gay marriage in stating that they would abide by the "law of the land."
"Those are the talking points of Barack Obama," Cruz said. If he is elected president, Cruz said the Supreme Court decision "will not stand."
In turn, Trump took to Twitter to dismiss such claims: "Lying Cruz put out a statement, 'Trump & Rubio are w/Obama on gay marriage.' Cruz is the worst liar, crazy or very dishonest. Perhaps all 3?"
He later added, "How can Ted Cruz be an Evangelical Christian when he lies so much and is so dishonest?"
According to a CNN/WMUR track poll released ahead of the New Hampshire primary, Trump remains in the GOP lead with 31% of the vote. His closest competitor, Sen. Marco Rubio, earned just 17% of the vote.
