Mike Pence just lost the Olympics

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Mike Pence sure knows how to marry himself to losing causes. He took such bigoted and unpopular positions as Governor of Indiana, that he couldn’t even run for reelection despite the state’s conservative leanings, because his approval rating fell so low. He signed on with the punchline known as the Donald Trump campaign, and lost by three million votes even after the Russians rigged it for his side. This week he picked a fight he couldn’t win against an American athlete in the Olympics. Pence just lost that fight too.

Pence, one of the most disgustingly homophobic pieces of crap on the world stage, got into a tussle this week with openly gay Olympic athlete Adam Rippon. Guess how that’s playing out for each of them? Pence is busy fending off his asinine snub of the North Korean delegation, while dodging questions about the White House domestic violence scandal. Rippon, on the other hand, is rapidly becoming one of the big stars of the Olympics. He’s already won a medal. His name is the top trending topic on Twitter.

Adam Rippon has become the American darling of the 2018 Olympics based on his own merits. But it doesn’t hurt that he’s engaged in a feud with someone as hated as Pence, whom mainstream Americans see as a demented perverted bigot. That feud has only served to further fuel Rippon’s rise. It’s also set him up as an American civil rights leader by default.

By the time the Olympics are over, Adam Rippon will be a household name for all the right reasons, even as Mike Pence continues to be a household name for all the wrong reasons. Pence still thinks he’s going to inherit the presidency after Donald Trump is inevitably ousted for his crimes. If he does, he won’t hold the office long; Pence is deeply implicated in the failed criminal coverup of the Trump-Russia scandal.