As the Winter Olympics kicked off in Pyeongchang, South Korea, ABC’s Good Morning America on Friday featured a report from Amy Robach that highlighted how Vice President Mike Pence, leading the U.S. delegation to the games, was “facing criticism today from openly gay freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy.”
A clip played of the athlete ranting: “I think it’s unfortunate that Mike Pence is leading the delegation because he has actively stood against LGBT issues in the past.” Robach asked him: “Will you get to meet with him beforehand, is that how it usually works?” Kenworthy was horrified at the prospect: “I sincerely hope not.”
This was not the first time the Olympic skier has denounced Pence. Appearing on Monday’s Ellen DeGeneres Show, Kenworthy complained that it was a “strange choice” to have the Vice President of the United States lead the U.S. Olympic delegation: “To have someone leading the delegation that’s, like, directly attacked the LGBT community, and a cabinet in general that sort of stands against us and has tried to do things to set us back. Um, it just seems like a bad fit.”
Robach’s exchange with Kenworthy on the February 9 GMA joined a long list of media outbursts in which network anchors and correspondents have used the Olympics to promote liberal politics.
