Evangelicals Shouldn’t Praise Mike Pence for Walking Out on Kneeling NFL Players

By Hemant Mehta

This afternoon, after nearly two dozen players on the San Francisco 49ers knelt during the National Anthem before a game against the hometown Indianapolis Colts, Vice President Mike Pence walked out in his own counter-protest, saying on Twitter “I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.”

Donald Trump, as usual, put even that narrative into doubt with his own tweet saying that he told Pence to walk out in the case of any anthem kneeling. (Since that protest was virtually inevitable, it means Pence used taxpayer money to travel to a football game in his home state despite pre-planning his exit before the opening kickoff.)

But the Religious Right is convinced Pence did the right thing. Among those cheering Pence’s decision was Christian evangelist Franklin Graham, who offered “Three cheers for Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen for walking out!”

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