Mike Pence Defends Ban of Pride Flags on Embassy Flagpoles

Vice President Mike Pence has defended the Trump administration's ban on the display of LGBTQ Pride flags on the flagpoles of U.S. embassies.

"I'm aware that the State Department indicated that on the flagpole of our American embassies that one flag should fly, and that's the American flag, and I support that," Pence told NBC's Kristen Welker in an interview that aired Monday on NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt.

Welker then asked him what he'd say "to the LGBTQ community who feels as though that runs counter to the president celebrating Pride Month in his tweet."

"[W]hen it comes to the American flagpole, and American embassies, and capitals around the world, one American flag flies," Pence responded. "I think it's the right decision, and we put no restrictions on displaying any other flags or any other displays at our embassies beyond that."

Embassies are free to display the rainbow flag inside their buildings or on exterior walls, but those that requested permission to put it on flagpoles were turned down by the State Department this year, despite having been allowed to do so during the Obama administration and the first two years of the Trump administration.

A few, however, have defied the ban and are flying the Pride flag on flagpoles, including embassies in South Korea, China, and Nepal.

Pence and Donald Trump's have spent their time in office by enacting over 100 anti-LGBTQ actions, such as declaring a license to discriminate in providing health care, barring transgender people from the military, and vowing to veto the Equality Act, which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity nationwide.