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Mike Pence left an NFL game in protest, now Dems want him to pay for it
Vice President Mike Pence left an Indianapolis Colts game early after players kneeled during the national anthem. Now Democrats want him to pay for the cost of the trip. (Image source: Mike Pence's Twitter account screenshot)

Mike Pence left an NFL game in protest, now Dems want him to pay for it

Vice President Mike Pence attended an Indianapolis Colts game earlier this month, and then quickly left the game in protest after some players kneeled during the national anthem.

Now, some House Democrats are demanding that Pence reimburse the Treasury for the money it cost him to make that trip, which some dismissed as nothing more than a political stunt.

'Costly publicity stunt'

A letter, signed by Ruben Gallego, Ted Lieu, Pramila Jayapal, Jamie Raskin and Brendan Boyle, can be read here.

Some excerpts:

"We are writing in response to your office’s use of taxpayer funding to orchestrate a costly publicity stunt at a National Football League (NFL) game on October 8th, an act which was then employed by the Trump-Pence reelection campaign for the purpose of soliciting donations. Given the inappropriate nature of this conduct, we strongly urge you to instruct your campaign to reimburse the Treasury for the full cost of your travel and expenses that day."

"Flying across the country and back at taxpayer expense simply to enter and then immediately depart a football stadium serves no discernible public interest."

"Again, given the appearance of serious impropriety in this matter, we request that you instruct the Trump-Pence campaign to immediately reimburse the Treasury for the full cost of your wasteful, unnecessary trip to Indianapolis."

One estimate has the cost of the trip as approximately $242,500.

How the event played out

Pence tweeted that he was at the game, accompanied by a photo that was from 2014.

He left shortly after, with a statement about his reasons.

Later, the president tweeted that Pence left the game at his request.

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