Whoopi Goldberg compared Mike Pence to a Nazi, as she attempted to defend the first openly gay US Olympian's refusal to meet his Vice President.

The host of The View said it was the equivalent of asking a Jew to engage with a Nazi

Adam Rippon, who came out as gay in late 2015, reportedly turned down a meeting request by one of Mr Pence's aides, although the figure skater subsequently said he would be open to meeting the Vice President once he has finished competing in the Winter Olympics.

However, he did criticise the White House last month for choosing Mr Pence to lead the US delegation to the Games and he has accused the vice-president, of expressing anti-gay views.

Mr Pence, a devout Christian, has dismissed reports Rippon rejected an invitation to meet him in protest against his position on homosexuality. He labelled reports “fake news”.

The veteran politician is known for his profoundly conservative views on marriage equality and LGBT+ rights, has a record of supporting the widely discredited practice of gay conversion therapy.

Attempting to defend the skater, Goldberg said: “Should they sit down to talk with this gentleman who doesn’t even sort of recognise him as a person?”

She added: “I think it would be like asking a Jewish person to sit down and understand where the Nazi is coming from. I think that would be a difficult thing.

Speaking about Mr Pence, she said: “He says keeping gays from marrying was not discrimination but an enforcement of God’s idea."

She added: “In 2006 he said gay couples signal societal collapse, and in 2007 he opposed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a law that would prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ folks. He doesn’t believe the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ was good, and he rejected the Obama administration directive on transgender bathrooms.”

On his congressional campaign website in 2000 Mr Pence wrote: “Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behaviour,”

Some suggested the statement was evidence he supported gay conversion therapy, but a spokesperson for Mr Pence told The New York Times in November 2016 that the Indiana-born politician does not support the practice.