Vice President Mike Pence’s walk out in protest of NFL players protesting the anthem was pre-planned and staged by the White House.
Jake Tapper of CNN tweeted how the scheme worked:
To be clear: @VP flew from NV to IN last night. Went to football game for a few minutes then left in protest. Soon flying back west to CA. https://t.co/cxFf6Hh9eD
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 8, 2017
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2/ At some point before the game, according to @POTUS, he and @VP discussed him leaving in protest if any players took a knee.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 8, 2017
3/ which to be honest seemed quite predictable given that the Colts were playing the 49ers. https://t.co/NEbIQbaMxL
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 8, 2017
4/ The Pool reporter covering @VP was told to stay in the van in the parking lot and that @VP would leave the game early
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 8, 2017
Pence used to taxpayer money to fly to Indianapolis just so that he could leave in a fake protest over players protesting during the national anthem. Pence’s protest was an administration attempt at propaganda that was intended to appeal to their base supporters while hijacking the news cycle away from important and less flattering issues for the White House.
Pence didn’t spontaneously walk out. The White House carefully selected this Colts game for him to show up at so that he could make a big scene. The bad news for the White House is that their con was quickly discovered, and nobody should be fooled by Pence’s fake protest.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association