Vice President Mike Pence's alleged PR stunt at Colts game cost police over $14K
Pence left when 49ers players kneeled during the national anthem
Remember when Vice President Mike Pence showed up to a 49ers-Colts game in October before abruptly leaving when several 49ers players kneeled during the national anthem? It turns out that Pence's alleged PR stunt cost Indianapolis police more than $14,000.
On Tuesday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released documents (see them here) that it obtained through the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. The documents show how much money police spent on Pence's appearance. The total comes out to $14,163.36.
Previously, CNN estimated that the cost of Pence's air travel was $242,500.
Pence's brief appearance came back on Oct. 8, a couple weeks after President Donald Trump said that teams should fire players who kneel during the national anthem. Upon arrival at Lucas Oil Stadium, he tweeted this:
Looking forward to cheering for our @Colts & honoring the great career of #18 Peyton Manning at @LucasOilStadium today. Go Colts! pic.twitter.com/C3aCYUNpqG
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) October 8, 2017
Of note: He re-used an old photo.
This guy can't even fake things well pic.twitter.com/fuMI54yJj7
— Sung Min Kim (@sung_minkim) October 8, 2017
After 49ers players kneeled during the national anthem, he left and tweeted this:
I left today's Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) October 8, 2017
Trump also chimed in:
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
As many pointed out, Pence had to know that many players on the 49ers would kneel during the national anthem. It certainly wasn't their first demonstration in the aftermath of Trump's inflammatory comments. Reporters covering Pence were also told beforehand that he might leave the game early.
As media pool has been made aware, a staffer told pool that VPOTUS may depart the game early. Did not indicate how early. https://t.co/G1f2WljJAW
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) October 8, 2017
After the game, 49ers safety Eric Reid called Pence's appearance and disappearance a PR stunt.
"With the information I have, the last time he went to a Colts game was three years ago, so this looks like a PR stunt to me." he said. "He knew our team has had the most players protest. He knew we were probably going to do it again. And so this is what systemic oppression looks like -- a man with power comes to the game, tweets a couple things out and leaves the game with an attempt to thwart our efforts. Again, based on the information I have, that's the assumption that I made."















