Grindr Chief Executive Officer George Arison confirmed that the gay dating platform recorded a “significant spike in usage” in Milwaukee during last year’s Republican National Convention, but said the surge did not overwhelm the company’s servers, contrary to social-media rumours at the time. In an interview with UnHerd journalist Freddie Sayers, Arison said the user bump reflects the app’s politically diverse audience and noted that younger members increasingly seek long-term relationships rather than short-term encounters. He added that Grindr’s user base spans the political spectrum and that anecdotal evidence of a predominantly liberal clientele no longer holds. Arison also commented on broader political engagement, arguing that the presence of openly gay figures in former President Donald Trump’s orbit suggests a growing level of acceptance. At the same time, he criticised proposals to cut U.S. funding for HIV programmes, calling reductions in initiatives such as Pepfar and PrEP “really bad” for public health.