Who knew salad could be so sweet?
These cookies are simply too beautiful to eat.
These astounding cake creations are mesmerizing to watch come to life.
Stay ahead of the curve with the latest news and viral moments from Comic Sands & get exclusive subscriber benefits
Something went wrong. Please try again.
Gallant modeled for historic San Francisco-based retailer Mr. S Leather more than 15 years ago. Gallant's photos are no longer on the company's website, but internet archives show they were online from the time they were taken in 2011, when Gallant was 22 years old, up until 2020.
Mr. S Leather sells a wide array of custom clothing, gear, and lifestyle products for adults, primarily in support of the leather and BDSM communities. Gallant posed for photos wearing white boxer briefs while modeling a leather collar and a leather harness.
The original store was founded in June 1979 by English immigrants Alan Selby and his partner Peter Jacklin. After losing Jacklin to AIDS in 1987, Selby, nicknamed The Mayor of Folsom Street, became an important figure in San Francisco's queer and leather communities and co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Emergency Fund, personally raising over a million dollars before his death in 2004.
The company remains the largest fetish and leather retailer in San Francisco. It also supports U.S. manufacturing by producing roughly 95% of its leather and latex items in local California workshops.
While no nudity was involved, Rupert Murdoch's tabloid paper the New York Post ran a story about Gallant's one-time modeling gig, claiming the photos were "XXX-rated."
Other right-wing media, conservative pundits, MAGA influencers, and Republican politicians jumped to sensationalize the story, trying to make the photos seem more salacious than they are—despite being no more revealing than a standard Times Square underwear ad.
Rather than sidestepping the attacks, Gallant addressed it directly in a video message on his social media, saying:
"By now, you've probably seen the stories and the pictures, but let's be clear about what this is. This is a coordinated political hit meant to drive me out of the race, and this represents everything that is wrong with our politics today."
"The establishment is clinging to power, mudslinging as a means of skirting accountability at the ballot box. Look, I am very proud of who I am, and I won't be shamed into silence, and I won't allow my private life to be distorted and weaponized against me."
You can watch his response here:
He continued:
"I am not a politician, actually, far from it. But I've been fighting for this country since I first enlisted in the Army at 17 years old."
"I wasn't scared flying Black Hawk helicopters in the Middle East. And I sure as hell won't let some pictures from my past scare me out of this race."
"So hear me when I say this: I'm in this to win. I've never been one to back down from a challenge, and I'm not backing down now. Thank you for all of the ongoing support that we've received."
People found Gallant's response to the right-wing attacks spot-on.
reply to @_gallantny/Instagram
reply to @_gallantny/Instagram
reply to @_gallantny/Instagram
reply to @_gallantny/Instagram
reply to @_gallantny/Instagram
reply to @_gallantny/Instagram
reply to @_gallantny/Instagram
reply to @_gallantny/Instagram
reply to @_gallantny/Instagram
reply to @_gallantny/Instagram
reply to @_gallantny/Instagram
Gallant will face off against incumbent Republican Representative Nick LaLota in November.
These proposals have been faced with even harsher scrutiny during the second Trump administration, which currently oversees a nationwide immigration crackdown as part of its pledge to launch the largest deportation campaign in American history.
With no sense of irony, House Republicans tweeted the following from its official X account:
"Every communist country eventually builds a wall. It's never to keep people OUT."
You can see the post below.
The tweet is total projection.
Republicans forget it was just last year Trump requested to have the U.S.-Mexico border wall painted black to make it too hot for migrants to climb over it. While detentions and deportations have dominated the latest immigration crackdown, the "Big Beautiful Bill" also set aside $46 million for new wall construction.
Last year, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration plans to expand “waterborne infrastructure” along the Rio Grande, which forms more than half of the southern border. At the time, she said about half a mile of wall is being built each day along the nearly 2,000-mile border.
Noem gave no further details, though Texas authorities have previously deployed floating barriers and reinforced riverbank fencing manned by state troopers, local police and the Texas National Guard.
Oh, and the House GOP has called for the border wall to be built many, many times.
@HouseGOP/X
The GOP was swiftly called out.
In recent months, "communism" has become a buzzword for the Trump administration, which has employed the term in an effort to malign democratic socialists, who've seen success in several primaries across the country.
Earlier this year, Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy referred to democratic socialists as "Lulu Lenins," a term that blends the name of the popular athletic wear brand Lululemon with Vladimir Lenin, the Russian revolutionary who helped establish the Soviet Union.
Kennedy also said Cuba's "incompetent" leadership only knows how to "oppress people" after federal prosecutors in the United States announced charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro over the 1996 shooting down of aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue.
Kennedy went on to say that Cuba's leadership likes to "take all their money and they give it to the military and the police and themselves, and to hell with the good people of Cuba.”
Critics pointed out that his words largely apply to the Trump administration, which saw efforts to restore funding for ICE and border patrol operations stall amid concerns about alleged human rights abuses tied to the immigration crackdown. Additionally, a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund for Trump allies and January 6 insurrectionists also came under scrutiny.
Trending news, savage takedowns, and animals too cute to handle — delivered before your coffee's done brewing.
Something went wrong. Please try again.
