Vice President Mike Pence gay??
While it would be a delicious rumor, that’s all it is. (as far as we know!)
Sadly (or not), this image isn’t Mike Pence in his secret gay youth. Turns out this is Brad Patton, a porn actor.
I never put much stock in the rumor that Mike Pence was secretly gay, but an image that popped up in my Facebook feed had me recalling it all again. It was deliciously ironic, or would have been, if Pence were actually gay and deeply closeted, and in self-loathing hell.
Yep, that’s Vice-President Mike Pence, and Olympic athlete from Tonga, Pita Taufatofua. Pita has made quite the stir with his shirtless, oiled-body appearances in the Olympics opening ceremonies, twice in a row. Of course, the humor is in the assumption that closeted Pence would get a selfie with the hunky Tongan, after his apparent overtures to gay Olympic skater Adam Rippon fell flat. Sadly, the picture is fake. The number two man in the Trump administration is the victim of fake news. Go figure.
Here’s the original selfie used to make the fake one with Pita. Someone did a decent photo-shopping to create the image (at least on a phone screen. The edit is a bit more noticeable on a computer monitor.)
So “Mother” (what Pence calls his wife. Reagan did the same thing. I always found that a bit creepy) can rest easy. Her hubby doesn’t have a secret hankerin’ for the man meat. That we know about, anyway. He’s certainly acted in the past like a deeply conflicted, self-loathing, closeted queen, however, so one can never be quite certain.
Maybe, as in the X Files… the truth is out there.
JimmieJoe / KC6YRU 
Cowardly Lions
June 2, 2026
Jim Reeves commentary, Gay, News, Personal, Pictures Amy Shuklian, Dennis Townsend, Eddie Valero, Larry Micari, lgbtq, Pete Vander Poel, PFLAG Tulare & Kings Counties, Pride, Proclamation, Tulare County, Tulare County Board of Supervisors, Visalia Pride Lions 3 Comments
Meet Tulare County Supervisors Pete Vander Poel (left), and Dennis Townsend. Today they demonstrated a glaring lack of leadership during the June 2, 2026, Board meeting. Not just that, though. They sent a very strong message to their constituents. For their MAGA compatriots, they will no doubt be hailed as heroes. For the LGBTQ community, however, they sent a very different message. One of contempt and disdain.
Board Chair Amy Shuklian, seen below, issued a proclamation recognizing three LBGTQ organizations for their “contributions to Tulare County”. It was signed by Shuklian, and Board members Larry Micari and Eddie Valero.
You’ll notice two empty chairs on the dais. (Well, three, but Amy’s doesn’t count, since she’s the one making the presentation) Those empty seats belong to Vander Poel and Townsend. They wouldn’t even stay in the room during the presentation. This is a clear abrogation of their duties as representatives of Tulare County as a whole. There are over 473,000 people living here, and if the nation-wide percentages of the queer community as part of the total population hold true here, and there’s no reason to suspect they don’t, then at least 47,300 of those constituents are a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Townsend and Vander Poel just told them what they think of them. There’s clearly no respect there.
Here’s the proclamation they wouldn’t be in the same room for:
It’s a sad commentary on right-wing politics (because both are local Republican leaders) when something as innocuous as a proclamation recognizing three organizations for their social outreach and public service activities is a bridge too far. It’s bad enough not to sign it, but leaving the room is a slap in the face of every LGBT person in Tulare County, and those that love them.
Cowardly lions, both of them. Oz needs to give them courage, and a heart. It’s clear they have neither.
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