US Vice President tweets message of support to gay athletes amongst controversy

US Vice President Mike Pence has tweeted out Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon a message of support after reports have surfaced of the athlete refusing to meet him.

The Tweet reads: “@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!”

Pence has a long history of supporting homophobic policies. In 2000, he reportedly said he would prefer to see government funding moved from HIV/AIDS programs to programs that would help those “seeking to change their sexual behaviour”, and that “federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviours that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus.”

Adam Rippon is the first openly gay athlete to be selected to compete in the winter Olympics. When interviewed last month about potentially meeting the Vice President he replied “You mean Mike Pence, the same Mike Pence that funded gay conversion therapy? I’m not buying it.”

Pence, for his part, has denied ever actually funding gay conversion therapy, though his views on the LGBT+ couldn’t be more clear.

Rippon has yet to respond to the tweet.