On Sunday, Vice President Mike Pence attended the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts to help celebrate the career of Colts legend Peyton Manning, who was being honored by the team in a ceremony to retire his number.
Pence chose to not stay the entire game, though, leaving after a number of players knelt during the national anthem. Pence’s firm stance against the NFL’s protestors and his subsequent departure from the game got The DailyER staff thinking about the most memorable presidential exits from public events. As a result, The DailyER compiled a list of what we believe to be the best presidential exits of all time.
3. Mike Pence leaves the Colts game
Mike Pence may not be a president, but his conduct at Sunday’s 49ers-Colts game was certainly presidential. The vice president displayed honor and dignity for the American flag by refusing to promote the anti-patriotic actions of the NFL players who chose to kneel during the national anthem. Mr. Pence’s timely exit from the game solidified his spot on this list, and his bravery to put his presidential-like foot down over these peaceful protests of racial injustice will be remembered for years to come. Way to go, Mike. Keep it out of our stadium!
2. Abraham Lincoln assassinated at Ford’s Theatre
On April 14th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln attended a showing of the play Our American Cousin in Washington D.C. After a standing ovation from the audience to honor Lincoln’s presence, the audience’s excitement was contained and the play began as scheduled. At about 10:25 p.m., actor John Wilkes Booth entered Lincoln’s presidential box and shot him in the back of the head. The bullet passed through Lincoln’s brain and fractured both of his orbital plates, and the president then slumped forward and fell back in his chair. Lincoln was rushed from Ford’s Theatre to receive immediate medical attention and died less than 12 hours later. What an exit for the Great Emancipator!
1. John F. Kennedy shot in Dallas, Texas
The day was Friday, November 22, 1963. President John F. Kennedy was riding in a motorcade in Dealey Plaza with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, and the first couple of Texas, John and Nellie Connally, when he was shot by multiple gunmen who were acting under the orders of Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. The shooters, believed to have been hired by Johnson’s associates in the Texas oil business who had mafia ties, fired from the direction of the infamous grassy knoll, killing President Kennedy. When he assumed the office of president, Lyndon B. Johnson was able to block any serious investigations against himself and successfully pinned the assassination on former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald. To this day, the death of John F. Kennedy remains the most comprehensive cover-up in the history of the United States government, and much of American society’s modern disdain for its government stems from the events of that fateful day. Now that’s a presidential departure!
