Subscribe for free to the America First Report newsletter.
The only difference between politics and business when it comes to staging events is the name. When a business does something to get attention, it’s called a “publicity stunt.” When politicians do it, they call it “optics.” I’m going with its more natural name with the Mike Pence/Colts game story because it appears more and more like something designed to change the conversation back in the President’s favor.
I’ll admit some of my annoyance about the whole situation is directed internally. When I first read the story, I thought, “good for him!” I stopped watching the NFL a couple of years ago when their anti-American political leanings were present but weren’t making national news yet. Also, I generally like Vice President Pence despite playing the role of Trump’s patsy since he was announced as the VP candidate. This latest stunt may be enough to change my mind.
Background
Today, the Vice President went to the Colts-49ers game in part due to the retirement of Peyton Manning’s jersey. The future Hall of Famer brought a ring to Pence’s home state and, despite claiming to have zero interest in running for office, likely has a promising political career ahead of him if he chooses to do so.
After nearly two dozen 49ers knelt during the National Anthem, the Vice President reportedly left the game, spoke briefly with Manning, then hit Twitter with his reasons for leaving. He put out a statement. We even highlighted a sentence from it. All of it seemed legitimate, especially considering there’s a realistic expectation based upon take-a-knee-free games last week that nobody would be taking a knee today. From there, the narrative falls apart.
Why it looks staged
President Trump took credit for his VP’s actions shortly after it happened.
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
This is a standard Trump move. He can’t allow anyone under him to appear to be thinking on their own, especially when it’s receiving positive press. If we’re to take him at his word on this one, then the basis for the publicity stunt becomes clear.
As for the realistic expectation that nobody would kneel today, we have to remember that this is the 49ers. They’re the source of this whole mess when former quarterback Colin Kaepernick started taking a knee last season. If any team is going to hold out and continue to kneel in disrespect of the flag, soldiers, and National Anthem, it would be them. It wouldn’t shock me if the White House reached out to the 49ers before the game to make sure they weren’t planning on banning the knee.
The Vice President himself left another clue that this event was staged. He initially Tweeted a picture of himself and his wife sitting at the game ready to enjoy it. Except he didn’t. As it turns out, the image he Tweeted is from three years ago:
Photo Pence Tweeted From Today’s Colts-49ers Game Is Actually From 2014 | Mediaite
With the media already speculating that Pence walking out of the game was a pre-planned moment, something that President Donald Trump seemed to all but confirm in a tweet he sent out this afternoon, Pence posting this old picture as if it were from today will only add to the skepticism.
During a segment on CNN after Pence sent out his tweets, senior media correspondent Brian Stelter expressed some cynicism over Pence’s actions, noting that the NFL protest story had faded from the media spotlight over the past couple of weeks and that this could be a way for the Trump administration to push it back to the front of the news cycle.
Final Thoughts
As a topic of focus, the White House loves the NFL. It plays well for both the President’s base as well as a majority of Americans. Staging a “spontaneous” walkout by the Vice President puts the focus of the media back on the kneelers instead of the failing GOP agenda. The more they can get us looking at football players being idiots, the less we’ll notice our leaders being idiots. Once again, Pence is proving to be nothing more than a patsy.
Covid variant BA.5 is spreading. It appears milder but much more contagious and evades natural immunity. Best to boost your immune system with new Z-Dtox and Z-Stack nutraceuticals from our dear friend, the late Dr. Vladimir Zelenko.
so what if it is?
that is part of politics