Cynthia Nixon Roasts Joe Biden for Calling Mike Pence a 'Decent Guy'

Joe Biden -- the popular, LGBTQ-friendly former vice president and possible 2020 presidential contender -- is getting some heat for calling the current vice president, well-known homophobe Mike Pence, "a decent guy."

Biden made the remark while appearing today with former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at Hagel's Forum for Global Leadership at the University of Nebraska's Omaha campus.

He was discussing Pence's appearance earlier this month at the Munich Security Conference of European leaders, which was not well-received and showed how Donald Trump had alienated allies around the world, said Biden, who was also at the conference. "A guy who's a decent guy, our vice president ... stood before this group of allies and leaders and said, 'I'm here on behalf of President Trump,' and there was dead silence," Biden recalled.

After Wall Street Journal reporter Reid J. Epstein tweeted about Biden's comment, social media lit up with messages denouncing Pence. Several referred to Pence's anti-LGBTQ record as a congressman, Indiana governor, and vice president, including his reported endorsement of conversion therapy, something he denies.

Pence, whose wife, Karen, teaches at a Christian school that discriminates against LGBTQ people, also made news this week when a homophobic article written by his new chief of staff, Marc Short, surfaced. Short, who wrote the piece in college in 1992, said it no longer reflects his views, but the vice president has not commented.

Biden backpedaled a bit in response to a tweet from actress and activist Cynthia Nixon. But some thought the remark would hurt Biden's 2020 chances.