SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
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
Oct 09, 2017
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:
\u201cAmerican taxpayers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for this background photo. Couldn't he have just used a stock image? https://t.co/rI2GoPuVsv\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1507550930
\u201c$240k+ for a rhetorical point & a twitter pic. That's just the flight, not counting other costs. What was the point?\nhttps://t.co/EiSGtsKv6L\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1507553843
\u201cIs he saying the stunt was long planned? As in, "planned to waste hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on flights before the Price scandal"? https://t.co/6O00Rw7sBM\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1507548304
\u201cBut who's counting? https://t.co/82iehRaFw2\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1507557580
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
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:
\u201cAmerican taxpayers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for this background photo. Couldn't he have just used a stock image? https://t.co/rI2GoPuVsv\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1507550930
\u201c$240k+ for a rhetorical point & a twitter pic. That's just the flight, not counting other costs. What was the point?\nhttps://t.co/EiSGtsKv6L\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1507553843
\u201cIs he saying the stunt was long planned? As in, "planned to waste hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on flights before the Price scandal"? https://t.co/6O00Rw7sBM\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1507548304
\u201cBut who's counting? https://t.co/82iehRaFw2\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1507557580
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:
\u201cAmerican taxpayers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for this background photo. Couldn't he have just used a stock image? https://t.co/rI2GoPuVsv\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1507550930
\u201c$240k+ for a rhetorical point & a twitter pic. That's just the flight, not counting other costs. What was the point?\nhttps://t.co/EiSGtsKv6L\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1507553843
\u201cIs he saying the stunt was long planned? As in, "planned to waste hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on flights before the Price scandal"? https://t.co/6O00Rw7sBM\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1507548304
\u201cBut who's counting? https://t.co/82iehRaFw2\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1507557580
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.