Anti-LGBTQ Republican left heart emojis and compliments on 'raunchy' gay Instagram account

Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, who has been supportive of his state's new laws cracking down on drag shows, has made a habit of liking and sending compliments to what Daily Beast reporter Will Sommer describes as a "raunchy" gay Instagram account.

The Instagram account in question belongs to 20-year-old Franklyn McClur, a resident of Knoxville, Tennessee who frequently posts suggestive photos of himself wearing nothing but underwear.

In response to one photo that showed a closeup of McClur's rear end, for example, McNally enthusiastically wrote, "You can turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine!"

McNally responded to another photo of McClur with his underwear barely covering up his genitals with a simple heart emoji.

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And in a suggestive video that McClur posted, McNally responded with heart and flame emojis while commenting that the video was "very good."

Sommer reached out to McNally spokesman Adam Kleinheider for comment, and he responded by scolding media publications for reading anything into the lieutenant governor's apparent enthusiasm for closeup butt pics.

"Trying to imply something sinister or inappropriate about a great-grandfather’s use of social media says more about the mind of the left-wing operative making the implication than it does about Randy McNally,” the spokesman said. “As anyone in Tennessee politics knows, Lt. Governor McNally is a prolific social media commenter. He takes great pains to view every post he can and frequently posts encouraging things to many of his followers. Does he always use the proper emoji at the proper time? Maybe not. But he enjoys interacting with constituents and Tennesseans of all religions, backgrounds and orientations on social media. He has no intention of stopping.”