The video was widely criticized, including by some Republicans. Richard Grenell, who served as Trump’s Acting Director of National Intelligence and is the country’s first openly gay cabinet member, described the video as “undeniably homophobic.” Log Cabin Republicans, a large, pro-LGBTQ GOP group, called the ad “divisive and desperate” and said it “ventured into homophobic territory.” And Sarah Longwell, a moderate Republican strategist, wrote on Twitter that “the consultants who think this kind of ‘running to Trump’s right’ is going to be effective should be sacked.”