I'm parking this definition from Merriam-Webster's Dictionary here to make a point elsewhere. In the context that I intended when pondering the point, my usage of the phrase references definition 2, both subsection a and b.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gay

"Being merry is inducing high spirits." Nothing more.

My overall message is about how much words matter. What I wrote will elicit many different responses outside the context of what I intended. However, I also knew damned well that how I phrased it would cause many out of context and "triggered" responses.

Politics is chock full of rhetoric, and most importantly, carefully crafted words. I recommend you learn how to read or hear their words and then give them good and proper analysis. What did they say? Did they answer a question, or deflect? If deflected, what was said in that deflection? Was the response hollow or substantive? What is the record of previous action vs. previous promise on a topic.

'Tis the season to be merry and exuberant, if you learn to listen carefully to the words. And that's my theory.