'#Winning': Mike Pence hails NFL's new anthem policy as a victory for Donald Trump

Tom Schad | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption What you need to know about the NFL's new national anthem policy SportsPulse: NFL insider Mike Jones breaks down the new national anthem policy and how owners, fans and players are reacting to it.

Vice President Mike Pence hailed the NFL's new national anthem policy as a political victory for President Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon.

"#Winning," Pence wrote on his Twitter account, with a screenshot of a CNN headline about the decision.

The screenshot also included a caption that called the policy change "a stunning victory for President Trump." As of early Wednesday afternoon, CNN's story on the subject mentioned Trump's criticism of national-anthem protests but did not call Wednesday's news a victory for the president.

Pence left an NFL game between the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers in October after some players kneeled during the national anthem, as a means of protesting their protests. Trump wrote on Twitter that he asked Pence to leave if any players protested.

"I left today's Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem," Pence wrote in a tweet.

Trump has taken a deep interest in the NFL's national-anthem demonstrations after using an expletive at a September rally to describe players who protested. He has tweeted about the NFL or the importance of standing during the national anthem a total of 32 times over the past eight months, generally criticizing the gesture as unpatriotic and disrespectful.

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Most of the players who have kneeled or otherwise protested during the national-anthem, starting with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, have described the demonstrations as a means of peacefully protesting police brutality and racial inequality.

In response to the tension surrounding the issue, the NFL announced Wednesday that it will allow players to remain in the locker room during the national anthem but punish teams whose players are on the field and do not "show respect" for the anthem.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.