If there was one place that was free of MAGA politics, you’d think it would be a gay hookup app, but you’d be wrong.
Not only are there frequent reports that spikes in Grindr usage during large conservative events like the Republican National Convention cause the app to crash, but Grindr now has a Republican in a major leadership role and has been wading into politics more and more during President Donald Trump’s second term.
When gay businessman and investor George Arison took over as its new CEO in 2022, he quickly came under fire for being a self-described “conservative” and admitting he agrees “with some of Trump’s policies” in a social media post. Joe Hack, the company’s new head of global government affairs, also spent a decade as an aide to Republicans on Capitol Hill.
This is raising eyebrows now that Grindr isn’t just facilitating the sex lives of millions of queer people across the globe, but is hosting its inaugural White House Correspondents Dinner weekend party and is busy lobbying the Republican-controlled legislature.
So who are the conservatives behind the scenes at Grindr, and does the app have ties to the Republican Party?
Who is George Arison?
Arison, an out gay man who shares two children with his husband, took over as CEO of Grindr in 2022 and was almost immediately called out for his political views after a number of Twitter (now X) posts came to light.
In February 2020, Arison posted, “FYI, I am a conservative & agree with some Trump policies,” in response to a since-deleted tweet from former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg while he was running an unsuccessful presidential campaign.
In other tweets, Arison said that Trump was “everything our Founders feared the most,” but also admitted he “liked some Trump policies,” Them reported.
“I think at least 10% of Republican voters and 1/3 of moderate independents are the same (like some Trump policies, can’t stand having him in office). So Dems need a nominee who can tap into this electoral spectrum,” Arison wrote. These comments have since been deleted.
Arison also wanted Republican Glenn Youngkin to run for president, said that Utah Sen. Mitt Romney should be president instead of Trump, and praised Sen. Mitch McConnell.
As CEO, Arison has pushed the company to integrate AI into the platform, supported Trump’s soft AI regulatory policies, and, most recently, endorsed San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a moderate Democrat, as the next governor of California, and sent Mahan’s campaign a $7,000 check.
Who is Joe Hack?
Hack was hired in April 2025, after Trump had taken office for his second term. Since he became Grindr’s head of global government affairs, the company has spent $1.6 million on lobbying federal lawmakers, Politico reports. This includes spending close to half a million dollars on Grindr’s in-house lobbying operations and $120,000 on hiring two large lobbying firms.
Grindr’s lobbying arm has been tackling issues important to the LGBTQ+ community, but Hack spent years prior to being hired by the gay hookup app working in Republican circles.
Hack worked on Capitol Hill as a Republican aide for a decade, including six years working for Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), who would later vote against codifying gay marriage.
What is Grindr lobbying for?
Despite these ties to the Republican Party, Grindr is using its power and lobbying dollars to fight for HIV prevention, surrogacy and IVF access for same-sex couples, and keeping kids safe on the internet while still protecting the privacy of its users.
“Grindr represents a global community with real stakes in Washington. The issues being debated here — HIV funding, privacy and online safety, LGBTQ+ family rights — are daily life for our community,” Hack said of why the company wanted to throw a party for the WHCD, per The Hill.
To accomplish this, Hack has been working on gaining bipartisan agreement in Washington and said he’s had success working with Republican politicians.
“One area that might be surprising is we’ve had very productive conversations with some House Republicans on online safety and working to keep kids safe, but also do it in a way that’s privacy-forward,” Hack told Politico in an interview last week.
This all seems to run counter to Arison’s stated desire for Grindr to stay out of politics. “In general, I don’t get involved in politics,” Arison said. “I don’t want Grindr involved in politics at all.”
