"This was a symbolic gesture, a political gesture, not an expression of deep compassion"

DAVID AXELROD: No, I think that’s part of what made this irresistible for him.

And you know, I think he sees everything as it’s going to play in the moment. And he sees no connection. He can say earlier in the day that NFL players who don’t stand for the (national) anthem because they’re protesting the kind of injustices that he was referencing in this pardon, that they should leave the country.

And he sees no connection between that and what he was going to do later in the day. And it gives more credence to Frank’s point a couple of seconds ago, which is that this was, this was a symbolic gesture, a political gesture, not an expression of deep compassion.