Rick Santorum won’t accept Caitlyn Jenner but will accept her endorsement
Notoriously anti-gay Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has said he would accept support from out trans Olympian Caitlyn Jenner.
Santorum, who has in the past claimed that equal marriage would “destroy the institutions of America’s foundation”, stopped short of saying he supported Jenner, despite saying he would accept her support.
The anti-gay Republican announced his plans to run for the White House again last month, after failing to secure his party’s nomination in 2012.
In an interview with CNN, Santorum was asked about whether he would accept support from the former Olympian who celebrated her transition on the cover of Vanity Fair.
He said: “If Caitlyn Jenner wanted to endorse me, would I accept the endorsement? The answer is, if that’s the way she feels about my candidacy, sure.”
But going on, Santorum ignored the question of whether he supported Jenner as a person several times.
The closest he came was to say: “My job as a human being is to treat everybody with dignity and respect.”
Watch the interview below
Back in 2012 Santorum claimed that equal marriage would destroy churches, families and “disintegrate” marriage. He said at the time that legalising same-sex marriage would “destroy the institutions of America’s foundation… and destroy the American family.”
Last year, as well as claiming that same-sex marriage damaged the economy by destroying families, Mr Santorum also claimed that homosexuality was a choice, stating, “I think anybody’s behaviour is a choice. Behaviour is a choice.”
In April – in case it needed clarifying – he confirmed that he would not attend the same-sex wedding of a family member or loved one, saying, “As a person of my faith, that would be something that would be a violation of my faith.
“I would love them and support them but I would not participate in that ceremony.”
And it is not just gay people Mr Santorum has an issue with – just last month he spoke out against Bruce Jenner’s televised interview regarding his transition.
