Bill Nelson Sold His Inauguration Flag To Spite Trump – Now It’s On eBay
Tom Pappert
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Florida’s Democrat Senator Bill Nelson, who lost his reelection bid to Rick Scott after a dramatic recount, auctioned off the American flag at a campaign event to spite President Donald Trump, and conservatives are now selling it on eBay.
Nelson received the flag after President Trump’s inauguration in 2017, where the flag was one of 100 flags symbolizing the senate. After the inauguration, these flags were certified and delivered to each senator.
Nelson auctioned his flag at a campaign event “because he doesn’t support the president,” according to the eBay listing. The flag was then purchased by a collector, then by Republican strategist Derek Utley, who held on to the flag until after Nelson conceded his reelection bid on November 19.
After just three days, the bidding for the flag has already passed $3,000. Utley says 20 percent of the auction’s proceeds will be donated to good causes, with 10 percent assigned to the veterans charity Homes For Our Troops, and the other 10 percent donated to Meadow’s Princess Playgrounds, the new project of Andrew Pollack, who tragically lost his daughter in the Parkland school shooting and was criticized by the media for wearing a Trump 2020 t-shirt.
Speaking to Big League Politics, Utley says there has been tremendous interest in the rare flag. There were “49 bids in 14 hours,” said Utley, noting it’s very unusual “for these to come back” as most senators, even from the opposing party, choose to keep their piece of history.
When asked why he waited until after the election, Utley told Big League Politics that he wanted to see what the election would do to the flag’s price. According to Utley, “Senator Bill Nelson’s actions and words were not putting America first.”
While the amount Nelson received for the flag during his auction is unknown, the eBay auction shows no signs of slowing down with nearly 70 bids. The auction is set to conclude on December 2.
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