Politics

Mike Pence Heckled by Man Claiming to Be His Lover

ā€˜BIGGER THAN MINEā€™

ā€œMike Pence, are you going to tell them? You promised today was our coming out day,ā€ the man said.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.
Brian Snyder/Reuters

Former Vice President Mike Pence visited the New Hampshire Secretary of Stateā€™s office in Concord to file for the stateā€™s primary ballotā€”but before he could sign the paperwork his visit was interrupted by a heckler claiming to be his lover.

ā€œWeā€™re running because we simply believe with all humility that Iā€™m the most qualified, most experienced, the most tested conservative seeking the Republican nomination,ā€ Pence said.

Before he could continue, a man interrupted and claimed to the gaggle of press and Pence supportersā€”Karen Pence among themā€”that he was romantically involved with Americaā€™s 48th vice president.

ā€œMike Pence, are you going to tell them? You promised today was our coming out day,ā€ the man said. ā€œMike Pence and I are gay. Hereā€™s the proof! Hereā€™s the proof!ā€

Pence continued to try and talk over the heckler, but he was clearly thrown off.

ā€œMike Pence, I'll admit your John Deere is bigger than mine,ā€ the man shouted as he was apparently escorted out by security.

Pence himself caught flak in March for making a homophobic crack at Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for taking ā€œmaternity leaveā€ after his son was born prematurely and placed on a ventilator.

ā€œPete is the only person in human history to have a child and everyone else gets postpartum depression,ā€ Pence quipped at the time. Pence has long been the poster child for anti-gay ā€œreligious freedomā€ movements, with a long track record speaking out and voting against LGBT policies.

As a congressional candidate he sought to redirect funding away from HIV treatments and toward conversion therapy programs. Once in office, Pence supported a constitutional ban on gay marriage, telling colleagues that ā€œsocietal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family.ā€

As vice president, Pence struck down protections for trans kids in schools, signed off on limitations of LGBT marriage rights, eliminated non-discrimination protections for gay government contractors and sought to keep transgender people out of the military.