The U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, defended Vice President Mike Pence against accusations of homophobia alleged by Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and compared the claims to a hate hoax along the lines of Jussie Smollett. Mayor Pete has been pushing this hate hoax along the lines of Jussie Smollett for a very long time now, several weeks, Grenell, who is openly gay, said Thursday on The Story with Martha MacCallum. Smollett, an actor, is accused of faking a hate crime and is currently being sued by the city of Chicago.