Vice President Mike Pence told NBC’s Kristen Welker that he “supports” the State Department directive for LGBTQ flags not to be flown on U.S. embassies’ official flagpoles, adding that it’s the “right decision.”
“As the President said on the night we were elected, we’re proud to be able to serve every American,” Pence said when asked about the flags. “We both feel that way very passionately, but when it comes to the American flagpole, and American embassies, and capitals around the world, one American flag flies.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo changed the chain of command regarding the flags, requiring top level permissions for the first time since President Barack Obama encouraged foreign policy agencies to celebrate LGBTQ rights.
Some diplomats sought to circumvent the directives by lighting their embassies with a rainbow glow or by festooning their websites with rainbow insignias. The flags can reportedly be hung in other spaces in U.S. embassies, just not on the official flagpole on the facility’s grounds.
