President Trump's feud with the NFL "drew attention again" yesterday when Vice President Pence left the 49ers-Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium after several players kneeled during the national anthem, according to Julia Manchester of THE HILL. Pence issued a statement shortly after leaving the stadium that read in part, "I left today's Colts game because President Trump and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem. ... While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I don't think it's too much to ask NFL players to respect the Flag and our National Anthem." Trump not long after "tweeted that he had asked Pence and second lady Karen Pence to leave the stadium if any players kneeled, and said he was proud of them" (THEHILL.com, 10/9). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Andrew Beaton notes Pence's decision "furthers the feud between the country’s most popular sport and the executive branch of the government just as the back-and-forth looked like it might be quieting down" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/9). NBC's Peter Alexander said, "This is the latest chapter in a divisive national debate, but it certainly escalates things" ("Today," NBC, 10/9).
RE-IGNITING THE CONTROVERSY: Trump this morning tweeted Pence is "receiving great praise for leaving game after the players showed such disrespect for country!" (TWITTER.com, 10/9). ABC's Mary Bruce noted the White House "seems to relish this fight and appears to want to keep it going" ("GMA," ABC, 10/9). In N.Y., Landler, Belson & Haberman note Pence’s walkout "keeps alive a dispute that has proved popular" with Trump's base, even if he has "drawn criticism from the NFL and some of its owners for being divisive and politicizing professional sports." White House officials indicated that they believed Pence had "sought the controversy, which is a favorite of the president’s and which he had voiced his approval of." The White House also "seemed determined" to bring the issue back to the forefront, as the press office yesterday released a photo of Pence "standing with his hand over his heart for the playing of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'" He was "standing next" to Gen. Courtney Carr, a "veteran of the Iraq war who now serves as adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/9). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote this was "almost certainly a predetermined attempt to gain political points by stirring up an issue that, once again, had begun to die down." Trump "loves this wedge issue as a distraction." He knows "blatantly trying to exploit the issue will earn cheers from his base" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/8). ESPN's Stephen A. Smith: "We have a president who has a base to cater to, primarily the white working class, who's primarily responsible for putting him in office." ESPN's Max Kellerman: "The White House believes they have a winner on this issue. They believe not only can they pander to their base, not only can they distract, but they can do it with an issue that ... many of them in their base support" ("First Take," ESPN, 10/9).
ALL PART OF A PLAN? POLITICO's Brent Griffiths reported the timing of Pence's departure from Lucas Oil Stadium on his "way to the West Coast and Trump's follow-up tweet led some to suggest" that the move "was a preplanned stunt." NBC News' Vaughn Hillyard tweeted that reporters traveling with Pence were "not even brought into the stadium with him." Hillyard: "As media pool has been made aware, a staffer told pool that VPOTUS may depart the game early. Did not indicate how early." Griffiths noted it also could "not have come as a surprise that a number of players chose to kneel" (POLITICO.com, 10/8). In Indianapolis, Tim Swarens writes Pence's walkout was a "premeditated political stunt." The fact that players are continuing to kneel or stay in the locker room during the anthem "isn't a secret." Pence "knew what to expect long before he boarded Air Force Two to fly to Indy" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/9). THE MMQB's Peter King wrote there was "absolutely no chance that this game would go off with 45 Colts standing on their side of the field and 45 members of the Niners standing on their side of the field." This was a "fait accompli -- that some Niners would kneel, that Pence would walk out, and that it would turn into the story of the day in the NFL" (MMQB.SI.com, 10/8).
NOT A COINCIDENCE: In Indianapolis, Gregg Doyel writes asks, "You think he didn't know the 49ers would kneel on Sunday? Pence knew." The 49ers are the "one franchise, the only franchise, that have had at least one player kneel before every game since Colin Kaepernick was the first to do it" last preseason. This "was planned." Pence has a "standing invitation to come to a Colts game and watch it from a suite," and he "accepted that offer" a few weeks ago for yesterday's game, which featured the retirement of Peyton Manning's No. 18 at halftime. The Colts had "no idea -- none -- that he would be leaving before kickoff." They were "just the wall Pence was using to paint his political graffiti" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/9). Doyel added the Colts "thought he was coming to honor and celebrate" Manning. The team did not know Pence "was going to be there five minutes and cost taxpayers a quarter-million dollars" ("New Day," CNN, 10/9). In S.F., Ann Killion writes the entire visit "seemed to be a bit of kabuki theater, designed to ensure that the anthem story and the outrage stay at the forefront of our political discussion, and not get buried by other, more pressing events" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/9). In Arizona, E.J. Montini writes it was a "completely staged demonstration of phony outrage by the vice president, no doubt doing the bidding of the president" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 10/9). In San Jose, Dieter Kurtenbach writes, "We are through the looking glass here, folks -- we’ve entered a world where the Vice President of the United States is going to sporting events strictly for the reason of making a political point" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 10/9).
POLITICAL DISTRACTIONS: USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes Pence turned the anthem into a "prop Sunday, co-opting it for a stunt that served no other purpose than to sow division, further enrage the administration’s conservative base and try to cow NFL owners." This was a "carefully orchestrated PR move," as it was not a "heartfelt expression of political dissent, as the player protests have been." This was "pure political theater, as disingenuous as it was calculated" (USA TODAY, 10/9). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jason Gay writes, "We need a cool-down period here, and it would be nice to see it initiated by elected leadership. 'The protesting players started this' isn't a position befitting a White House" (WSJ.com, 10/9).
REID RESPONSES: The MERCURY NEWS' Kurtenbach notes Pence's departure was "one of the best examples to date of one of the issues" 49ers S Eric Reid is "trying to highlight." Reid said, "That’s case in point for systematic oppression. He’s a powerful man -- has a huge following, has a huge platform, and this is what he chooses to do: Fly in on taxpayer money to confuse the message that we’ve been working so hard to control the narrative on?" He added, "Until somebody tells me that he goes to NFL games on a regular basis, I think this is a PR stunt because he knows our team has had the most players protest, so he stopped in to watch us do it and left with an effort to thwart what we’ve been trying to accomplish" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 10/9).
