PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel will tell the Republican National Convention Thursday that he is proud to be gay, a person familiar with his speech said on Wednesday.
His announcement apparently will be a first for a GOP convention,
The Washington Post reports.
Thiel, 48, who helped established PayPal in 1998, is a Libertarian who supports Donald Trump. He also sits on the board of Facebook.
A backer of gay marriage, Thiel is expected to tell the delegates at the Quicken Loans Arena that he did not agree with all of the Republican Party's platform.
However, infighting over "bathroom bills" and related issues detract from other issues, the Post reports.
Thiel plans to emphasize that the economy and foreign affairs are the most critical issues facing the country. He does support a larger military and is expected to say that he support Trump's idea to avoid unnecessary wars, according to the report.
He will be the first openly gay speaker at a Republican convention since 2000, the Post reports, when Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona spoke in Philadelphia.
Texas Gov. George W. Bush was first nominated for the White House at that convention.
Besides Trump and oldest daughter Ivanka, other Thursday speakers include Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn and the Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University in Virginia.
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