'Hypocrite' Mike Pence Slammed For Tweet Supporting Gay Olympic Athlete
Vice President Mike Pence is being slammed as a “hypocrite” for sending a tweet in support of openly gay U.S. Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon on Wednesday.
Rippon made headlines when he criticized Pence’s longtime hostility toward gay rights issues and has reportedly refused a meeting with the vice president. However, on Thursday Rippon clarified that he would be willing to meet Pence for an “open conversation,” but only after the Olympics had concluded.
Pence, who in 2006 said marriage equality would lead to “societal collapse,” faced some blowback from his tweet, in which he tagged Rippon and accused the media of “fake news.”
.@Adaripp I want you to know we are FOR YOU. Don’t let fake news distract you. I am proud of you and ALL OF OUR GREAT athletes and my only hope for you and all of #TeamUSA is to bring home the gold. Go get ‘em!
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) February 8, 2018
Here are some of the replies:
Hypocrite.
— Vicki Lovato (@vlov327) February 8, 2018
You are skating on thin ice in many ways.
— Fake Trump Troll 🌊 ❄️ (@FakeTrumpTroll) February 8, 2018
Your credibility went out the window on this tweet when you said 'fake news'. You know your behavior and statements in the past indicate you do NOT support the LGBTQ community Adam is a part of. There is nothing 'fake' about reporting that.
— Gail Turley (@AuntInAZ) February 8, 2018
— Jason Modica (@JasonModica) February 8, 2018
If you're there for him, what has your administration done for Adam and all LGBTQ population?
— Fátima (@betelxeuse) February 8, 2018
Funny. Your record doesn't seem to indicate you're for anyone in the LGBTQ+ community. Does that change if an Olympic gold becomes involved?
— 🎶🎶🎶 (@taylorkinz235) February 8, 2018
Hey Mike, remember this? You wonder why people don't trust you? https://t.co/bY3WMYpvHm
— Wayne Shisler (@WayneShisler) February 8, 2018
Give it up Pence. Your actions speak louder than your words.
— Clay Thompson (@cdogtalk) February 8, 2018
Five Times @vp Vice President Mike Pence Double-Downed on his Anti-LGBTQ Agenda https://t.co/m4PYvkcqmR
— Meghan Stabler (@MeghanStabler) February 8, 2018
If you were "for us" then why would you oppose same sex marriage? Why do you think trans Americans aren't worthy of military service? Take your facade and faux "support for athletes" and cram it up your ass, Pence.
— Ryan Ruark 🏳️🌈 (@RyanMRuark) February 8, 2018
This tweet does not make you a friend or ally to the LGBTQ+ community. We know you by know; your words and by your actions how you really feel about us. Until you change, @Adaripp and the rest of the LGBTQ+ have every right to keep you at arms length. We simply don’t trust you.
— Parallel 50° North (@omg_yay) February 8, 2018
"You will know them by their deeds."
Adam knows exactly how "for him" you are by your works, and no amount of Tweeting is going to change that.— josh T. (@dshwa76) February 8, 2018
Also on HuffPost
He has supported LGBT discrimination under the banner of "religious freedom."
The bill's passage sparked national controversy, and in the end, was reported to have set the state back $250 million. In April 2015, Pence signed a revised version of the bill into law that included language that explicitly barred businesses from denying services to customers on the basis of categories that include sexual orientation and gender identity. Many LGBT rights advocates remained critical of the revisions, saying that Indiana should have repealed the measure altogether.
He REALLY opposes same-sex marriage.
Of the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling that granted same-sex couples the right to tie the knot nationwide, he reportedly said that he said he was disappointed that SCOTUS had “failed to recognize the historic role of the states in setting marriage policy,” but nonetheless noted that he believed “in the rule of law.”
He's opposed hate crime protections for LGBT people.
At the time, Pence blasted President Barack Obama for using the measure to “advance a radical social agenda,” according to USA Today, and argued that the law could be used to curb free speech rights.
He didn't want "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repealed.
In 2010 he told CNN he did not want to see the military become “a backdrop for social experimentation," and said, "We ought to put their interests and the interests of our national security first."
He opposed Obama's 2016 transgender bathroom directive.
“The federal government has not business getting involved in issues of this nature,” Pence said.
His stance on HIV/AIDS prevention is questionable at best.
He's also suggested that needle exchange programs, which can be used to help prevent the spread of HIV, encouraged drug use.
Last year, Pence reluctantly allowed for a short-term needle exchange program to be put into place in Indiana following a spike in HIV infections across the state.
"I do not enter into this lightly," he told The Indianapolis Star. "In response to a public health emergency, I'm prepared to make an exception to my long-standing opposition to needle exchange programs."
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
