US Vice-President Mike Pence has shown unswerving dedication to President Donald Trump, but an aide to the presidential campaign has claimed that his wife is less enthusiastic about the US President.
When a scandal erupted in October 2016 over an "Access Hollywood" tape that showed Trump and host Billy Bush making lewd comments about women, Mike Pence was "genuinely shocked," sources told the Atlantic.
A former campaign aide said that his wife Karen was "disgusted" by the leaked tape.
"She finds him reprehensible—just totally vile," the source claimed.
The report also alleged that Pence and other Republicans planned a coup in the aftermath of the revelation, but Trump managed to deflect attention away from the matter by bringing three women who had accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault or harassment to a debate with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in St. Louis.
According to the same report, published in the Atlantic on Tuesday, Trump in turn has passed judgment about the values of his vice-president. A White House advisor said that Trump is prone to teasing Pence about his religious beliefs and other issues.
For example, "when it was reported last January that the Pences would be moving some of their family pets—which include two cats, a rabbit, and a snake—into the Naval Observatory, Trump ridiculed the menagerie to his secretary, according to a longtime adviser. 'He was embarrassed by it; he thought it was so low class,' says the adviser. "He thinks the Pences are yokels.'"
In response, Mike Pence's Press Secretary Alyssa Farah called the Atlantic's story a "tired, false claim."
Regarding The Atlantic’s tired, false claim about the VP during the campaign — we denied this in the article and deny it again today. Didn’t happen.😴
— Alyssa Farah (@VPPressSec) 5 декабря 2017 г.
The news of friction between Trump and the Pences was received with interest on Twitter. Some commentators called on Karen Pence to go public with her criticism.
If Karen Pence thinks Trump is vile and reprehensible, why won't she speak out against him?
— abbey (@abbeysolutely1) 5 декабря 2017 г.
This just in! Karen Pence finds you to be vile and disgusting, reprehensible and totally vile. I am no fan of hers, but she nailed this one.
— Mike Finnestagulavar (@MikeFinnesagula) 5 декабря 2017 г.
President Trump has recently reopened the debate over the "Access Hollywood" tape, which was filmed in 2005 and shows Trump discussing groping women. According to a New York Times report last week, despite having issued an apology for the comments, Trump now claims that it wasn't him.
