Trump Joked That Pence 'Wants To Hang' Gay People: Report

In a new profile of Vice President Mike Pence by the New Yorker, reporter Jane Mayer details how President Trump prodded Pence about several of his socially conservative stances. One of those ostensible jokes included saying Pence wanted to “hang” gay people.

The profile called “The Danger of President Pence,” detailed how Trump has many stances that are antithetical to the conservative movement he co-opted during his presidential run. According to Mayer’s sources, Trump harped on Pence’s unfriendly stances toward gay people and his anti-abortion position.

“Don’t ask that guy—he wants to hang them all!” Trump allegedly joked.

Pence was previously governor of Indiana and passed legislature there that was seen as discriminatory towards LGBTQ people in the form of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The New Yorker also described a meeting between Trump and Pence with a legal scholar who claimed that even if the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, many states would legalize it anyway.

“You see? You’ve wasted all this time and energy on it, and it’s not going to end abortion anyway,” Trump reportedly said to Pence.

Trump has also joked about Pence’s piousness. The New Yorker reported that Pence holds a prayer group at the White House with an extremely conservative evangelical pastor.

“Did Mike make you pray?” Trump allegedly asks visitors who have met with Pence.

Pence and his wife are evangelical Christians and were reportedly deeply offended by the Access Hollywood tape that came out during the campaign. In the leaked footage, Trump bragged about “grabbing women by the p—y.”