Kellyanne Conway: Calling Pence’s NFL walkout a ‘political stunt’ is offensive

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On Sunday, Vice President Mike Pence stirred up controversy after walking out of an NFL game because the players were protesting during the national anthem.

Pence claimed that the trip had been on the books for some time, even before he went out to Las Vegas to be with the families and victims of the mass shooting there, and that President Donald Trump had told him beforehand to leave if anyone knelt during the anthem.

“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. At a time when so many Americans are inspiring our nation with their courage, resolve, and resilience, now, more than ever, we should rally around our Flag and everything that unites us,” Pence said in a statement.

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However, not everyone believed the explanation.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., tweeted Sunday that the walkout was a political “stunt,” writing, “After all the scandals involving unnecessarily expensive travel by cabinet secretaries, how much taxpayer money was wasted on this stunt?”

Pence had flown from Las Vegas to Indianapolis for the game and then back to Las Angeles.

However, Kellyanne Conway fired back on Fox News, berating anyone who called the move a stunt, saying, “To refer to someone who’s standing up for the flag and all it represents to hundreds of millions of Americans and all it signals to the world, our veterans, our unity, the sounding of our great nation — to call that a political stunt is truly outrageous, egregious, and offensive.”

What’s more, Trump himself praised Pence for the move, saying that he was getting good reviews for it.

“The trip by @VP Pence was long planned. He is receiving great praise for leaving game after the players showed such disrespect for country!” Trump tweeted Monday morning.