VP Mike Pence Walked Out of Colts Game at Trump’s Behest

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen appeared excited pre-game to cheer for the Indianapolis Colts against the San Francisco 49ers at Lucas Oil Stadium.

UPDATE: It turns out the above photo was originally taken in November 2014 and was simply reposted today.

Then the national anthem was played during which a few players knelt instead of remaining standing with hand over heart as is required by protocol. The Second Couple decided to leave.

Here his statement.

VP Pence on Indianapolis Colts

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.

The choice of a few Colts players for today was in stark contrast to what they decided last week, which was to “stand in unity.”

UPDATE: About an hour later, the @realDonaldTrump account on Twitter informed the public that President Trump had asked the vice president to leave the stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting the country. Trump added he was proud of Pence and Second Lady Karen.

It was mostly the 49ers who knelt. Reportedly, only about two Colts knelt during the last bars of the song.