“And what’s the number one way I piss off Donald Trump and the Republicans?”
With a kiss.
That’s a political advertisement by Democrat Richard S. Madaleno Jr, who is running for governor in Maryland.
And it’s not just any kiss. Madaleno kisses his husband, Mark, while surrounded by their two children at the conclusion of the ad.
According to Madaleno’s campaign, that’s the first time a same-sex kiss has ever been shown in a political ad.
The ad, which comes just in time for Pride Month in June, first aired on Thursday morning during “Fox and Friends.” If the goal of the advertisement is to bother President Trump, then Madaleno's campaign had it well-placed.
It’s been well-documented that one of President Trump’s favorite shows is “Fox and Friends,” as he often live-tweets his thoughts as he watches the show.
Before the advertisement, Madaleno had already made history, first as the first openly gay member in the Maryland General Assembly, which he was elected to in 2002. In 2006, he became the first openly gay member in the Maryland Senate. If elected as governor, he could become the first openly gay governor in Maryland.
Madaleno, however, wouldn’t be the first openly gay governor in the United States. In 2016, Kate Brown became the first openly LGBTQ+ governor elected in any state, when she was elected at Oregon’s governor. Brown identifies as bisexual.
The rest of Madaleno’s advertisement focuses around other ways he is “infuriating” Donald Trump, such as by standing up for Planned Parenthood, helping to ban assault rifles in Maryland, and supporting public schools over vouchers.
Madaleno’s husband has appeared in videos with him before, too. In October, the couple released a video together in October, where they read mean tweets they’ve received and talked about National Coming Out Day.
Madaleno will be first trying for his chance as governor in the Maryland primary on Tuesday, June 26.
The gubernatorial race has already been shaken up once in Maryland with the sudden death of Kevin Kamenetz on May 10. A few days later, it was announced that Kamenetz's name would remain on the ballot as it was too close to the election to order new ballots.
You can watch the ad here:
