Pence Protesting Football and National Anthem

You may have heard about the recent event in which Mike Pence recently walked out of a football game when the 49ers took a knee during the anthem.

This potential publicity stunt cost a lot of money, and comes out the pockets of taxpayers. Supposedly, it cost $242,500 for him to travel to Indianapolis, only to walk out during a football game. (https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/10/08/politics/pence-indianapolis-flights-cost/index.html)

Now, here are my questions:

Is it disrespectful to our military to walk out over the national anthem? Just like how taking a knee is seen as bad? Does he get a free pass to do this since he is the vice president?

Is it perfectly fine to use taxpayer money to travel to a football game, only to leave when players use their first amendment rights?

Is it just a publicity stunt made by him and Trump?