Vice President Mike Pence, who attended Sunday's Indianapolis Colts game, left the game early after several players staged an anthem protest. (Photo: AP)
Pence and Trump Blasted for NFL Publicity Stunt That Cost Taxpayers $242,500
Ethics watchdog says administration should not be spending that kind of money just to make hollow political point
The Trump administration is under fire from ethics watchdogs after spending massive amounts of public dollars to send Vice President Mike Pence to a professional football game on Sunday just so that he could walk out.
As Common Dreams reported Sunday, the entire episode was slammed as a "PR stunt" after a tweet from President Trump offered clear evidence that Pence's walk-out was planned in advance. And with many pointing to the taxpayer money it took to fly Pence to Indianapolis from Las Vegas, an analysis by CNN calculated the total cost of the spectacle at about $242,500.
On Monday morning, in response to a tweet by Trump acknowledging Pence's trip was "long planned," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), slammed the decision:
FINAL DAY! This is urgent.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just hours left in our Spring Campaign, we're still falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The Trump administration is under fire from ethics watchdogs after spending massive amounts of public dollars to send Vice President Mike Pence to a professional football game on Sunday just so that he could walk out.
As Common Dreams reported Sunday, the entire episode was slammed as a "PR stunt" after a tweet from President Trump offered clear evidence that Pence's walk-out was planned in advance. And with many pointing to the taxpayer money it took to fly Pence to Indianapolis from Las Vegas, an analysis by CNN calculated the total cost of the spectacle at about $242,500.
On Monday morning, in response to a tweet by Trump acknowledging Pence's trip was "long planned," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), slammed the decision:
The Trump administration is under fire from ethics watchdogs after spending massive amounts of public dollars to send Vice President Mike Pence to a professional football game on Sunday just so that he could walk out.
As Common Dreams reported Sunday, the entire episode was slammed as a "PR stunt" after a tweet from President Trump offered clear evidence that Pence's walk-out was planned in advance. And with many pointing to the taxpayer money it took to fly Pence to Indianapolis from Las Vegas, an analysis by CNN calculated the total cost of the spectacle at about $242,500.
On Monday morning, in response to a tweet by Trump acknowledging Pence's trip was "long planned," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), slammed the decision: