Donald Trump reportedly once 'joked' that vice president Mike Pence "wants to hang" all gay people.

The report comes from an article in the New Yorker which stated that president Trump regularly tries to "belittle" Pence's views on issues like gay rights and abortion. According to the piece, when Pence was once asked about homosexuality, Trump motioned towards the vice president and said: "Don't ask that guy - he wants to hang them all!" The New Yorker article, written by Jane Meyer, cited two unnamed people as sources. In a statement to the Indianapolis Star, Pence's spokesperson Alyssa Farah claimed that the story was untrue.

“Articles like this are why the American people have lost so much faith in the press. "The New Yorker piece is filled with unsubstantiated, unsourced claims that are untrue and offensive."

Pence is well-known for his anti-LGBT views in the States. The vice president has long been a staunch opposer of the progression of gay rights, having previously stated that he supported conversion therapy. He also believes that homosexuality is "incompatible" with the US military and that gay people "weaken" the army's cohesion. The New Yorker article also referenced Pence's anti-abortion rhetoric and his desire to overturn Roe v. Wade - the landmark decision made by the Supreme Court to protect women's choice in the States. When told that many States would simply legalise abortion on their own anyway, Trump allegedly butt in saying:

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