There's a dating site for everyone these days - and I mean everyone. Do sexy feet excite you? Time to hit up a foot fetish site. Feel like you're not up to scratch in the looks department? Ugly Schmucks is the one for you. Already dating someone else, but looking to have a bit of fun on the side? Fifty-three million other people have signed up to Ashley Madison, so why not join them?
That being said, it was only a matter of time until a dating site for Trump supporters was created. Trump.dating, a site that claims to give users the chance to meet "without the awkwardness that comes with the first conversation about politics", is apparently the place to find "The America First Partner Of Dreams." Creators of the site assert that "by matching patriotic and political viewpoints as a base foundation of the relationship, it will allow one to focus on what really matters - conversation, commonalities, and if all goes well, courting."
However, as beautiful as bringing together like-minded individuals and giving them the chance to make America great again sounds, there is an endless list of reasons why the site hasn't exactly lived up to the image it advertises. This week Trump.dating caused shock and outrage when it was revealed that its owners were using a convicted child sex offender as the face of their site.
When Trump supporters clicked on the front page of the dating site, they were met with the beaming face of Barrett Riddleberger, a 50-year-old man who was convicted of filming himself having sex with a 15-year-old girl just over two decades ago. Sporting a red Trump backwards baseball cap and beaming next to his wife, Jodi, poster boy Riddleberger is reportedly a convicted child abuser with felony conviction for "taking indecent liberties with a minor" after making the sex tape in 1995, when he was 25.
When contacted by news outlet WRAL on Monday, the 50-year-old entrepreneur refused to talk about the issue, insisting he would rather discuss "the present, not the past." However, when probed about his child abuse conviction, he apparently expressed a desire to move on from his past wrongdoings, claiming: "I’ve already paid my debt for something I did 25 years ago."
It is unconfirmed whether the owners of the dating site - who have since taken down the image and replaced it with a picture of another couple - were aware of Riddleberger's past. However, it is obvious why the site chose to use them as the poster twosome for the front page of their site. The couple, who hail from Greensboro, North Carolina, have been married for 22 years. At first glance, they appear to be a model example of the kind of relationship that Trump.Dating say they could help users find.
The pair are known to be active in local politics, with Jodi being a co-founder of a group called C4GC (Conservatives for Guilford County), a self-described "non-partisan alliance of local individuals working to educate and encourage participation and interaction of everyday citizens with local, state, and federal government."
Despite his insistence on moving on, Riddleberger’s Twitter feed has opened him to more criticism from news outlets. The businessman was revealed to have posted an inspirational quote from evangelical Christian Ravi Zacharias, saying: ‘The ultimate test of any civilisation is how we treat the most vulnerable – what we do with our children."
It's not the first time this week that Trump.dating (which has never been officially endorsed by President Trump) has inspired controversy; the site was blasted by people around the world when it was revealed that it did not welcome homosexual users to join. When signing up, new users are asked if they are a "straight man" or a "straight woman" and there are no other options for gay or bisexual people who may like to join.
However, the anti-gay site was not yet done causing outrage. Soon after its owner's heterosexual preferences were out in the open, it was publicised that the dating site openly encouraged infidelity. Shockingly, when setting up a profile, new users can identify themselves are "happily married" or "unhappily" married and begin looking for fresh romance with strangers online.
Trump.dating is reportedly owned and set up by Friends Worldwide Incorporated - a company based in Miami Beach, Florida, which started up in November 2011 to provide dating services. Its website tells users that “since 2001, our portfolio of top rated sites has represented over 75 diverse dating communities based upon the personal interests and unique lifestyle choices of our members." Its other specialty dating websites include military match-finder SingleSoldiers.org, a place for "single soldiers and their admirers" and Culinary Friends, a website which helps foodies find love.
I think most of us will agree that the Trump.dating site is unacceptable. While there is a strong chance that the owners were unaware of Barrett Riddleberger's background, they still need to be held accountable for their actions. Furthermore, pushing an anti-gay agenda and openly encouraging users to cheat on their partners is sickening behaviour and I hope that many users will now be turning to other dating sites to find love.