President Donald Trump says Vice President Mike Pence’s attendance at a 49ers-Colts game this weekend was “long planned.”
Trump’s comment on Twitter Monday appears to respond to questions about whether Pence’s brief attendance at the NFL game was a political stunt. Pence left Lucas Oil stadium after some San Francisco players took a knee during the national anthem.
Trump tweets that Pence “is receiving great praise for leaving game after the players showed such disrespect for country!”
The former Indiana governor flew in to Indianapolis so he could watch Peyton Manning’s jersey retirement ceremony. But he did not stay long. Around kickoff, Pence wrote on Twitter that he left because he would not “dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.”
The trip by @VP Pence was long planned. He is receiving great praise for leaving game after the players showed such disrespect for country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2017
According to an ABC News estimate, the trip cost taxpayers nearly $250,000.
The vice president traveled to Indiana’s capital in an Air Force C-32 that costs $30,290 per hour to operate. Flying from Las Vegas, where he was visiting those affected by last week’s mass shooting, the trip took approximately three-and-a-half hours, totaling $106,015.
After leaving the game, Pence left for Los Angeles, a four-and-a-half-hour flight that cost $136,305, bringing the total for the two legs of the trip to $242,320. Had Pence skipped the trip to Indianapolis and flown straight to Los Angeles from Las Vegas — a 1 hour, 15 minute flight — the expense would have been $37,862.50.
Pence’s costly trip comes as a number of Trump administration officials have come under scrutiny in recent weeks over the cost of their travel on private and military planes.
(YWN / AP)
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3 Responses
Trump and Pence are total hypocrites and frauds. Trump has absolutely no respect for the military. He mocked John McCain’s wartime service, he publicly feuded with a gold star family, he raised money for vets but gave none of it until the media exposed his bluff, and against the advice of top military brass he picked unnecessary fights with transgender military members who serve this country. Trump USES the military for his own ego and gain. Trump is a disgrace to the office of the presidency, the country and the flag. As Conservative icon Bill Kristol apply put it when he tweeted that if Pence would walk out on those who disrespect the country he should walk out of the oval office the next time he is here.
i have no problem if it was political…to inderline these traitors. let the team lose $$$
Just as these overpaid players can have an opinion, so can POTUS and VP. A week after what happened in Vegas, the players could have stood up.