Viral Trump Tower Pride clip spotlights gay MAGA support for anti-LGBTQ+ claims

A viral Instagram reel filmed outside Trump Tower in New York City has drawn fresh attention to the tensions inside sections of the queer community over Donald Trump’s record on LGBTQ+ issues.

The video shows journalist Walter Masterson and trans youth activist Lorelai Crean speaking with attendees at a Pride-adjacent gathering. Masterson opens the clip by saying, “If I sound confused, that’s because I am.”

From there, the conversation turns to claims about LGBTQ+ rights, workplace protections and HIV funding. One attendee says he does not believe those issues are “under direct attack”. After being told otherwise, he replies, “I don’t think any of that’s true,” and later says Trump “was actually on a mission to eradicate HIV here in the United States” during his first administration.

He also dismisses criticism as “talking points” before the discussion shifts to trans rights. Asked what rights trans people do not have, he raises what he calls a “big debate” over puberty blockers for trans children. Crean responds that trans youth have been denied medical care by hospitals, including in New York City.

The clip circulated after New York City Pride, which took place last week.

Commenters reacted sharply online, with several telling the man to “wake up” and others expressing embarrassment at the exchange.

Some users said the man appeared to be Brandon Straka, who has more than 1million followers on X, formerly Twitter, and often promotes far-right views. According to NBC New York, Straka was arrested in January 2021 in connection with the Capitol riots and was charged with impeding law enforcement officers during civil disorders, knowingly entering restricted grounds and engaging in disorderly conduct with intent to disturb a hearing before Congress.

In October 2021, he pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building as part of a plea deal and received a three-year probation sentence. He was pardoned by Trump in January 2025, days before that sentence would have ended, according to WSAZ3.

Straka has denied taking part in a riot and has said that by accepting the plea deal he pleaded guilty to things that were not true.

Why the video resonated

The exchange landed because it combined several current flashpoints in U.S. LGBTQ+ politics: trans health care, HIV funding and the gap between public identity and political allegiance. For LGBTQ+ audiences, the clip also underscored how misinformation and denial can shape debates even at events associated with Pride.

The man’s identification as a gay MAGA supporter made the moment especially combustible online, where the discussion quickly turned from the video itself to broader questions about political loyalty and queer rights.

“If I sound confused, that’s because I am.”

What remains in dispute

• The video does not establish the full context of the gathering outside Trump Tower.
• The attendee’s claims about HIV policy and trans rights are contradicted within the interview itself.
• Commenters identified the man as Brandon Straka, but that identification comes from social media users in the thread.

Masterson and Crean’s clip has now joined a familiar online pattern: a brief street interview, a disputed claim about LGBTQ+ policy and a wave of reactions that pushed the exchange well beyond its original setting.

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