Ahead of the crucial Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump indicated that his stand on the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgenders (LGBTs) is softening.
Trump granted an interview on Thursday with New England Cable News reporter Sue O'Connell, who identified herself as a lesbian, before a campaign rally in New Hampshire.
O'Connell asked the controversial business tycoon: "We've had some great progress for the gay and lesbian community, through politics, through all sorts of judicial actions and elected actions over the past 20 years. When President Trump is in office, can we look for more forward motion on equality for gays and lesbians?"
In response, Trump said he will try to come up with a compromise solution that will be acceptable to both those who agree with and disagree with homosexual rights.
"Well, you can and look—again, we're going to bring people together. That's your thing, and other people have their thing. We have to bring all people together," the Republican presidential candidate said.
He further said the status of gay rights now in the United States is already a "mess" and will continue to be such if not addressed.
"If we don't, we're not gonna have a country anymore. It's gonna be a total mess. It's a mess right now," Trump said.
"It's going to be worse. So you know this is a very important choice. This presidential year is a very important—maybe the most important we've had in many, many decades, and I'm gonna bring people together," he added.
At the start of his campaign, Trump used to have a hard-line stance against the rights of homosexuals.
He heavily criticised the Supreme Court for legalising homosexual marriages all throughout the U.S. last year, saying that the justices should have left this decision to individual American states.
Trump even went as far as saying that he would "strongly consider" appointing justices who would reverse the ruling.
The Republican presidential aspirant, however, changed his tone during an NBC News interview last August, where he criticised private companies that fire employees on the basis of sexual orientation.
"I don't think it should be a reason for employers to terminate workers," Trump told NBC's "Meet the Press."
