Former Vice President Joe Biden has come under fire for referring to Mike Pence as “a decent guy.”

Speaking in Omaha, Biden mentioned Pence’s appearance at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month.

“The fact of the matter is it was followed on by a guy who’s a decent guy, our vice president, who stood before this group of allies and leaders and said, ‘I’m here on behalf of President Trump,’ and there was dead silence. Dead silence,” Biden said.

Biden and Pence are reportedly on friendly terms.

Pence is one of the most anti-LGBTQ elected officials in office today, with a long history of fighting for harsher policy against LGBTQ people. He has supported federal funding for conversion therapy, voted for a federal constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality, and is rumored to be one of the architects of the transgender military ban.

Related: Joe Biden condemns gay ‘concentration camps’ in Chechnya

So the reaction to Biden’s comments was swift.

.@JoeBiden you’ve just called America’s most anti-LGBT elected leader “a decent guy.” Please consider how this falls on the ears of our community. @DrBiden https://t.co/Cw2beknTj7 — Cynthia Nixon (@CynthiaNixon) February 28, 2019

Mike Pence believes in gay conversion therapy and allowed an HIV outbreak to happen in Indiana. No, Joe Biden, Pence is not a decent guy. He’s scum. https://t.co/QAHQQ6Nurp — Adam Best (@adamcbest) February 28, 2019

https://twitter.com/AngryBlackLady/status/1101274023550320641

Joe Biden what the entire fuck… Mike Pence is a decent man? The same racist, sexist and probably the most anti LGBT supporter with legislative power….. that guy is fucking decent? Yeah this is why Biden didn't make it out of Iowa in 1988 and 2008. — Mr. Weeks 🤴🏾 (@MrDane1982) March 1, 2019

“Mike Pence, the guy who has been 100% in lockstep with everything this administration is doing, now that’s my main man right there!” – Joe Biden, while doing a kickflip or whatever — Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) March 1, 2019

Nice to see Joe Biden reach across the aise to join hands with Mike Pence so that together they can electrocute a gay teenager. https://t.co/nYOboxKJIF — Jules Suzdaltsev (@jules_su) February 28, 2019

Calling Mike Pence "a decent guy" may be the dumbest thing that Joe Biden has ever said, which is really saying something. — Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) February 28, 2019

Biden apparently heard the response and responded to Cynthia Nixon’s tweet.

You’re right, Cynthia. I was making a point in a foreign policy context, that under normal circumstances a Vice President wouldn’t be given a silent reaction on the world stage. But there is nothing decent about being anti-LGBTQ rights, and that includes the Vice President. — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 28, 2019

Biden is expected to run in the Democratic presidential primary in an already crowded field. Perhaps this form of centrism is how he plans to distinguish himself.