Mike Pence lies about his support for anti-gay conversion therapy during riff with Olympic skater Adam Rippon
Mike Pence (Photo: by Michael Vadon/Flickr)

Mike Pence overnight posted a very Trumpian tweet in his latest attempt to not take responsibility for having supported funding for anti-gay conversion therapy.

And while the Vice President can call it "fake news," it's not.

Olympic skater Adam Rippon last month slammed Vice President Pence for his support of the fraudulent practice of anti-gay conversion therapy, in a USA Today interview. Pence reportedly was so angered by Rippon's remarks within an hour of the article being published his office tried to arrange a conversation with the Olympic skater, who at the time was the first openly-gay athlete to participate in the Winter Olympic Games.

Rippon refused, as USA Today's Christine Brennan reported. She spoke with CNN Thursday morning to explain the entire story.

The Vice President "was so concerned about the criticism he received from U.S. Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon that his staff went to the extraordinary length of asking the U.S. Olympic Committee to set up a conversation between the two – an offer Rippon turned down," Brennan reported.

Pence's office is now refuting that they tried to arrange a conversation, but Brennan stands by her reporting, as she told CNN Thursday morning.

Conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, is a dangerous practice that supposedly turns gay people straight. It does not. In fact, every major medical organization has warned of the possible harms it can bring, which noting it is ineffective. It has also been linked to suicide. Judges have ruled it is "fraud."

Yet when running for re-election as a U.S. Congressman Mike Pence's campaign website noted he supported funding the practice, which Pence now denies.

"The widespread belief that Pence supports gay conversion therapy," USA Today noted, "comes from a statement he made in 2000 on his congressional campaign website: 'Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.' While he didn’t explicitly mention gay conversion therapy, leaders in the LGBT community have said they believe that’s what Pence meant in light of his long-standing opposition to gay rights."

Pence also tweeted directly to Rippon, basically telling the Olympic athlete what he told USA Today is fake news too:

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