Donald Trump regularly mocks his Vice-President’s religious beliefs according to in in-depth profile published this week and once told a legal scholar during a discussion on gay rights that he wants to “hang them all”.
The Vanity Fair article gives a remarkable insight into Michael Pence, a man who publicly appears quiet and affable but is reported to be deeply ambitious and calculating.
He is well-known for being religiously conservative but a “longtime associate” of both men 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?”
The article reads:
Two sources also recalled Trump needling Pence about his views on abortion and homosexuality. During a meeting with a legal scholar, Trump belittled Pence’s determination to overturn Roe v. Wade. The legal scholar had said that, if the Supreme Court did so, many states would likely legalize abortion on their own. “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 the conversation turned to gay rights, Trump motioned toward Pence and joked, “Don’t ask that guy—he wants to hang them all!”
Pence’s office has rubbished the claims.
But Pence’s relationship with the gay community is far from positive.
In March 2015, then-Republican Governor Pence moved to appease the social conservatives in his state of Indiana by signing legislation that allowed businesses to refuse service to gay couples.
Local and national protests were swift, leading to Pence hurriedly signing an amendment banning discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
He has also supported so-called gay conversion therapy and has been called “one of the most anti-LGBT politicians out there”.