Biden is courting LGBTQ+ voters in New York City

NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden will court LGBTQ+ voters at a pair of New York City events a day after his widely panned performance against Donald Trump in the presidential campaign’s first debate.

Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks at Friday’s grand opening of a visitor center at the Stonewall National Monument, which was the scene of a defining moment in the gay rights movement. The Democratic incumbent will then headline an evening Pride Month fundraiser with LGBTQ+ advocates.

Even before the debate, Biden was trying to boost support within the Democratic-leaning community after losing ground with Black and Latino adults and other demographic groups that helped elect him in 2020, and whose strong backing he needs to win reelection in November.

About 4 in 10 LGBTQ+ identifying adults approve of how Biden is handling his job as president, according to Gallup data collected in 2024. That’s in line with the share of the general population that approves of the president’s job performance. About 7 in 10 LGBTQ+ voters supported Biden in the 2020 election, according to AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of voters and nonvoters.

Biden’s stance on LGBTQ+ issues has evolved throughout his decades of public service.

As a U.S. senator, he voted in 1996 for the Defense of Marriage Act, which forbade federal recognition of same-sex unions.

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Then, more than a decade