Donald Trump Jr. sure is his father’s son. Junior tweeted a personal attack on gay Olympian Adam Rippon for having had the nerve to criticize Mike Pence on policy. Rippon called out Pence’s homophobic positions in a January interview, but then tried to move past that and put the focus on the Olympics. Junior had a problem with this:

x

Really? Then Perhaps you shouldn’t have spent the past few weeks talking about him. I haven’t heard him mention you once??? https://t.co/8lcCsoyBsq

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 14, 2018

Uh, Uday? Pence asked for a meeting with Rippon, which Rippon rejected. And smarmed all over him on Twitter:

x

.@Adaripp I want you to know we are FOR YOU. Don’t let fake news distract you. I am proud of you and ALL OF OUR GREAT athletes and my only hope for you and all of #TeamUSA is to bring home the gold. Go get ‘em!

— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) February 8, 2018

The Twitter response to Junior’s attack was swift and brutal, but Donny boy knew what he was doing on strategy if not on substance: he was playing to daddy’s base with a personal attack on someone more accomplished, handsome and witty than himself, but, you know, gay and possibly liberal.