Hey @N1ckSandmann, I watched your speech tonight at the #RNCConvention2020 with an open mind, thinking I might hear something that would convince me of your position that you were an innocent victim of a cruel media.

I was disappointed, but not surprised, to hear otherwise.

In prior comments, you’ve said that you and your classmates were reacting to a handful of Black Israelites who were trying to disrupt the Native drum dance taking place at the monument, and the incident with Nathan Phillips was an incidental outcome of that other interaction.

You said that you “harbored no ill will” toward him, that you “respected his right to protest” and that you “would not comment on the account of Mr. Phillips, as I don't know him and would not presume to know what is in his heart or mind.”

You said you wished you’d walked away.

You could have reiterated those things and extended a branch of peace to Mr. Phillips, a Marine veteran as you have noted, in the course of affirming that you meant no harm then or now and that you hope the lesson people take is not to judge books by their cover.

Instead you framed Phillips as a malevolent aggressor, called the incident a calculated assault by the “radical left,” and celebrated Trump as the patron saint of truth, honesty and media balance—a remarkable position to take even if you didn’t close with a MAGA red-hat flourish.

You said you didn’t see the incident as something beneficial—rather, that it was destructive and horrific. But your speech tonight was a clear embrace of a role as a political symbol and conservative icon; a career move. It was your choice. I hope you end up satisfied with it.