Olympian and reality TV star Bruce Jenner stunned some Friday by not only
coming out publicly as being transgender, but also as a conservative Republican.
The topic of his political leanings came up while he and ABC "20/20" correspondent Diane Sawyer were discussing public attitudes and discrimination faced by the the transgender community, reports The Huffington Post.
Sawyer asked the gold medalist if he cheered for President Barack Obama earlier this year, when he was the first president to use the word "transgender" during his State of the Union Address.
"He actually was the first one to say the actual word transgender, I will certainly give him credit for that," Jenner told her. "But not to get political, I've just never been a big fan — I'm kind of more on the conservative side."
"Are you a Republican?" Sawyer asked him.
"Yeah! Is that a bad thing?" Jenner said. "I believe in the Constitution."
Sawyer also wondered if being a Republican could be "unsettling" for other Republicans, but Jenner replied that neither party has "a monopoly on understanding" and that he would have no problem asking either Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., or House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio to help champion the cause.
"I would do that, yeah, in a heartbeat," Jenner said. "Why not? And I think they'd be very receptive to it."
After the special aired Friday, Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Gregory T. Angelo issued a statement to support Jenner, and to offer an invitation to join the conservative group.
"As the nation's only organization representing LGBT conservatives and straight allies, Log Cabin Republicans congratulates Bruce Jenner in the tremendous courage he demonstrated tonight, being true to himself both in terms of his personal identity as well as his political identity," said Angelo. "There is a home for you in Log Cabin Republicans — as there is for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender conservatives and straight allies."
Jenner's Republican stance puts him in a minority for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, according to a
Gallup Poll in July. That survey showed that 21 percent of LGBT Americans are either Republican or lean Republican, while 63 percent are or lean Democratic.
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