Trump Reportedly Joked That Pence ‘Wants To Hang’ All Gays
President Donald Trump joked that Vice President Mike Pence “wants to hang” all gay people, according to a profile of Pence published in The New Yorker on Monday.
The article, entitled, “The Danger of President Pence,” details various viewpoints held by the socially conservative vice president that clash with Trump’s. Two sources told the magazine Trump has teased Pence about his stances toward religion, abortion and the LGBTQ community.
“A longtime associate” of Trump and Pence was quoted in the article saying that the president likes to let his VP “know who’s boss” and that Trump asks people who stop by Pence’s office, “Did Mike make you pray?”
After a legal adviser told Trump and Pence that many states would probably legalize abortion if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Trump was said to have turned to Pence:
‘You see?’ Trump asked Pence. ‘You’ve wasted all this time and energy on it, and it’s not going to end abortion anyway.’
When that meeting shifted to discuss gay rights, according to the article, Trump pointed to Pence and joked, “Don’t ask that guy — he wants to hang them all!”
Pence’s views on equal rights have long stirred concern in the LGBTQ community. As Indiana governor, he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015, which essentially gave businesses the right to refuse to serve gay people. He has supported so-called gay conversion therapy and has been called “one of the most anti-LGBT politicians out there.”