The Second Family has had a tough year.
In addition to the usual chaos that comes from working in the Trump administration, Second Lady Karen Pence received a firestorm of criticism for her decision to work at an anti-LGBTQ school.
At the Immanuel Christian School in Springfield, Va., where Karen teaches art part-time, the faculty must agree to a "statement of faith" rejecting same-sex marriage, trans identity, and even premarital sex. In addition to LGBTQ organizations, even Immanuel alumni spoke out against the harm caused by the school's hateful policies and Karen's implicit endorsement of its platform.
This all came as a shock to the Pences.
"We honestly didn't see that one coming. Our kids went to this school," Mike Pence said Tuesday event for the Alliance Defending Freedom -- the anti-LGBTQ hate group behind the Masterpiece Cakeshop case -- reports the Washington Times, a D.C. newspaper known for its conservative bent.
Pence offered some advice to the ADF assemblage on surviving the backlash to anti-LGBTQ actions, which are often done under the guise of "religious freedom."
"No. 1 is, spend more time on your knees than on the internet," said Pence. He added: "Forgiveness is a great gift."
Pence is one of the LGBTQ community's most powerful foes. The vice president was memorably burned by Olympian Adam Rippon in 2018 for his longtime opposition to gay rights -- most visibly as Indiana's governor -- and his long-rumored endorsement of conversion therapy.
So naturally, gay Twitter leaped on the double meaning present in Pence's "on your knees" advice, which in addition to prayer is also a euphemism for oral sex.
