GOP strategist slams Pence’s ‘utterly appalling’ Colts walkout

A Republican strategist early Monday slammed Vice President Mike Pence for walking out of an NFL game in Indianapolis after some players kneeled during the national anthem, calling the vice president’s behavior “utterly appalling.”

“Utterly appalling, wasteful, profligate, disgusting behavior from the vice president,” Steve Schmidt, who’s also an MSNBC strategist, said on “Morning Joe.”

“He ought to be ashamed of himself.”

{mosads}Pence left the Colts game on Sunday after some San Francisco 49ers kneeled during the anthem. He has since been under fire, with many calling his actions a “political stunt.”

Reports that the vice president’s trip to the game cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars have further sparked criticism.

“It’s truly amazing,” Schmidt said early Monday. “So he took Air Force Two, full package of Secret Service from Las Vegas to Indianapolis for a stunt, inconvenienced tens of thousands of Colts fans to, again, use the flag and the anthem as a prop.”