The Democratic presidential contender who didn’t place his hand over his heart during the national anthem before the 2020 debate on July 30 suffered from a moment of “absentmindedness,” his campaign claimed.
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) was widely criticized for being the only one out of 10 contenders to not place his hand over his heart during the anthem.
“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,” said Ari Fleischer, former press secretary in the George W. Bush administration, referring to former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
In a statement sent to NTD, Ryan’s team said on Wednesday: “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.”
.@RepTimRyan does not put his hand over his heart during the National Anthem before tonight’s #DemDebatehttps://t.co/QPrGh6lgl7 pic.twitter.com/zDz6ftZaS1
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 31, 2019
“He was, in fact, singing along with the choir to honor our country. Congressman Ryan loves our country and will continue to honor the flag during the anthem in future events, as he has in countless events in the past,” the statement read.
The other candidates on stage were: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.); former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper; Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.); former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas); Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.); Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.); and author Marianne Williamson.
There were rumors that O’Rourke would kneel during the anthem but he remained standing.
The former representative did invite three football players who garnered national attention in 2017 for kneeling during the anthem as it played before their high school games.
“Honored to have Michael, Matthew, and RoJe from Lansing with me tonight. They bravely took a knee so their fellow Americans could stand a little more free,” O’Rourke wrote after the debate, posing with the football players.
Ryan was one of several Democrats who tried portraying some of their opponents, such as Warren and Sanders, as radical. Bullock and Delaney also said that plans like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal were too extreme and would not give the eventual Democratic nominee enough votes to beat President Donald Trump.
When Warren confirmed she would never use a nuclear weapon first, Bullock said that would be unwise.
“I wouldn’t want to take that off the table,” he said.
And when Sanders trumpeted his proposal to overhaul the healthcare system, including eliminating private insurance, Ryan pushed back, saying many union members would oppose the plan.
Ryan said that union members who gave away wages in order to get good healthcare would be shafted “because Washington is going to come in and tell them they’d get a better plan” when it wouldn’t necessarily be better for everyone.
The Ohio representative later pushed back after Sanders said his healthcare plan would cover illegal immigrants.
Americans pay for their healthcare, Ryan said. “Undocumented people can pay for their healthcare, too,” he added.