Only one Democrat on the debate stage Tuesday night refused to salute the anthem – and weirdly, it wasn’t one of the socialists.
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Oh.) pointedly did not place his hand over his heart when the Star Spangled Banner was played. However, Ryan later said that he wasn’t trying to disrespect the flag – he blamed it on “absentmindedness.”
Ryan isn’t doing terribly hot right now, so he should take note – unintentional virtue signaling won’t help his chances.
Tim Ryan doesn’t salute national anthem during debate
The little-known Ryan was eviscerated in the first debate by Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hi.), who, luckily for Ryan, did not appear alongside him again Tuesday night. After Ryan was pilloried over his support of the Afghanistan War on live television – and confusing al-Qaeda and the Taliban – it’s surprising he even returned for round two.
Things got off to a bad start for Ryan this time as, even before questions were asked, he apparently forgot (?) to salute the flag. Even Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was able to pretend that the Soviet anthem was playing and fake it.
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One of these is not like the others.
Besides Sanders, all eight other candidates saluted, including South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma.), former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, self-help author Marianne Williamson, former Maryland Rep. John Delaney, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock.
Spectators took notice – and immediately called him out for it.
“Rep. Tim Ryan didn’t put his hand over his heart during the national anthem. I guess he’s appealing to the Kaepernick wing of the Democratic Party,” wrote former George W. Bush press secretary and Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer.
Ryan blames “absentmindness”
For a Democrat, Ryan has some fairly moderate – or, at least, just not totally nuts -positions on healthcare and immigration, and he is something of a neocon as well, so his unintentional virtue signaling is somewhat surprising. It’s not clear why Ryan thought it would help his presidential ambitions to imitate Colin Kaepernick, but the debate did, notably, come after the “go back” controversy involving president Trump and “the squad.”
However, in follow-up statements, Ryan said that he wasn’t trying to make a statement. “I love this country as much as everybody else,” he told reporters.
“Congressman Ryan wasn’t protesting and didn’t mean to make any statement last night in Detroit, it was a moment of absentmindedness while on a debate stage that won’t happen again,” a Ryan campaign spokesperson said in a statement.
“Absentmindness” during a presidential debate? Really? Ryan needs to get his head in the game.
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