Vice President Mike Pence left Sunday’s National Football League game between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers after several 49ers took a knee during the playing of the National Anthem.
‘I left today’s Colts game because President Trump and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem,’ Pence said in a statement that the White House quickly pushed out to reporters.
With his swift stadium exit, Pence reignited the fight between the administration and the NFL that had quieted down in recent days, replaced in the news cycle by Trump’s tiffs with his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who the president knocked on Twitter today.
Vice President Mike Pence (left) and his wife Karen (right) are photographed at the Indianapolis Colts game Sunday, which they left after several members of the San Francisco 49ers took a knee to protest racial inequality
After the Pences (right) left the game, the vice president tweeted this picture of himself and Karen Pence standing during the national anthem at the Indianapolis Colts game
Pence had started his Saturday by tweeting a photo of himself and his wife Karen, decked out in Colts gear, and ready to take in the game, in which former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was being honored.
But things quickly soured for the Pences before the game even kicked off, as Colts players stood arm and arm and several 49ers kneeled.
It should have been no surprise to Pence that the teammates of Colin Kaepernick, who had played for the 49ers last year when he started taking a knee to protest racial injustice, would have done the same today.
But Pence still got offended and tweeted in disgust.
The White House’s statement echoed his tweets.
‘At a time when so many Americans are inspiring our nation with their courage, resolve, and resilience, now, more than ever, we should rally around our Flag and everything that unites us,’ Pence argued.
‘While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I don’t think it’s too much to ask NFL players to respect the Flag and our National Anthem,’ he continued.
‘I stand with President Trump, I stand with our soldiers, and I will always stand for our Flag and our National Anthem,’ he said.
The vice president later tweeted a photo of himself standing, with right hand over heart, for the Star Spangled Banner.
‘We were proud to stand – with all our @Colts – or our soldiers, our flag, and our National Anthem,’ Pence wrote.