Peter Thiel Becomes First Openly Gay Man to Address His Sexuality at RNC

PayPal co-founder and billionaire Peter Thiel made history Thursday night when he became the first openly gay man to address his sexuality at the Republican National Convention. "I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all, I am proud to be an American," he said. The declaration came at the end of a short speech in which he decried the United States' lack of technology leadership, poorly executed wars in the Middle East, and "divisive" culture wars. "Who cares?" he asked in response to the idea of transgender bathroom laws.

Naturally, a gay man coming out at the Republican National Convention is a big deal no matter how you slice it. However, his dismissiveness of trans issues and lack of condemnation of anti-gay platform planks left some feeling cold about his speech. You can check out some of the reactions on Twitter below, and watch his whole speech in the video above.