The US vice president-elect insisted today he was not offended when the cast of the Broadway hit "Hamilton" expressed worries to him that Donald Trump might not respect US racial, cultural and social diversity.
In another chapter of what appears to be a nascent culture war, Mike Pence clearly sought to defuse the swirling controversy over the Friday night performance he attended in New York of a hugely popular play that many see as a symbol of the multicultural left in America.
The incident prompted the president-elect himself to demand an apology over what he saw as rude behaviour toward Pence, who was also booed by some in the audience as he entered the theatre with his family.
"I did hear what was said from the stage, and I can tell you I wasn't offended by what was said. I'll leave to others whether that was the appropriate venue to say it," Pence said on Fox News today.
Pence acknowledged that these are anxious, disappointing times in America for people who voted for Hillary Clinton.
"I just want to reassure people that what president-elect Donald Trump said on election night" -- that he would be the president of all Americans -- "he absolutely meant from the bottom of his heart," Pence said.
But even as Pence tried to end the flap, Trump -- who insulted Mexicans, Muslims and women among others during the campaign and so far has named only arch-conservative white men for his cabinet and senior adviser positions -- kept at it.
Trump attacked the play and its cast for the second straight day and also criticised, again, another potent symbol of the left in America: the NBC TV comedy show "Saturday Night Live", which has ruthlessly ribbed Trump the candidate and now Trump the president-elect.
Trump fired off a tweet again demanding an apology from the "Hamilton" cast and dismissing the award-winning musical as not that great.
"The cast and producers of Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated, should immediately apologise to Mike Pence for their terrible behaviour," Trump tweeted early this morning.
Pence differed, saying, "If you haven't seen the show, go and see it."
The wildly popular play, which won 11 Tony Awards in June -- including best musical -- follows young colonial rebels who became America's founding fathers, celebrating diversity and immigrants' contribution to the nation.
The show's lead actor, Javier Munoz, is openly gay, HIV positive and a cancer survivor.
Among other concerns, activists worry that the Trump's administration will be hostile to gay rights.
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