Donald Trump said he made a request to Mike Pence before he went to the Colts game Sunday. Trump asked Pence to walk out of the stadium if the disrespectful kneeling took place. Some news media outlets are reporting the incident as Pence “following Trump’s order” while others are reporting Pence took it on himself to walk out once the players disrespected the National Anthem. A tweet from Donald Trump soon cleared up any and all speculation.
Donald Trump confirmed the walkout was planned and he is “proud” that Mike Pence didn’t stay after disrespect was shown during the National Anthem. The 49ers-Colts NFL game was played in Indianapolis and about a dozen San Francisco players kneeled while the National Anthem played. According to the Guardian , Pence was following “Trump’s order” when taking his exit from the game.
Pence took to Twitter to announce his departure from Lucas Oil Stadium, with Pence’s tweet followed by one from Donald Trump. The President noted that he “asked” Vice President Pence to leave the stadium if the anthem was disrespected by any kneeling going on.
Once Mike Pence made his exit, some people were quick to call this a “staged protest” orchestrated by Trump. Despite Mike Pence conveying that he wouldn’t stay anywhere that the flag, the nation’s soldiers, and our National Anthem are disrespected, it didn’t take long for Trump to spill the real beans, as seen in the tweet below.
I asked @VP Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country. I am proud of him and @SecondLady Karen.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017
While Karen Pence seems to have gotten lost in the headlines, it was not just the Vice President who exited the game, Karen also took her exit alongside her husband. She was all decked out for the game with her Colt’s jersey on. Trump acknowledged Karen Pence contributing to the cause by also thanking her in his tweet. He also said he was proud of the Vice President and Second Lady.
Unlike his wife, Mike Pence was dressed in a sports jacket and collar shirt, but he was missing a tie. This left his look casual with the top button undone on the shirt. What Pence had on would have been deemed casual dress for the White House, but perhaps a bit overdressed for a football game. Now that Trump has taken to Twitter to confirm it was a planned walkout, Pence may have realized all cameras would be on him as he protested the protest with his walkout. He has been seen at previous games decked out in his fteam’ste teams jersey.
https://www.facebook.com/theoregonian/posts/10155207756591973
Before Trump posted his tweet revealing he had asked Pence to do this, the debate was on who was behind Pence’s walk out. According to the International Business Insider , Pence said in a statement, “I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.” But critics weren’t buying this. The shout-outs on social media sites suggested Trump was behind this walkout and it didn’t take long for the President to confirm their accusations.
https://www.facebook.com/NESN/videos/1734090113309987/
[Featured Image by Michael Conroy/AP Images]