US Secretary of State Antony Blinken faced backlash from conservatives online for playing the guitar in a Kiev bar as the Ukraine war escalated.
On Tuesday, a video of Blinken performing Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” with the band 19.99 went viral.
“We know this is a really, really difficult time.” Mr. Blinken told the audience: the current. “Our soldiers, our people, especially in Kharkiv in the northeast, have suffered tremendously. But they need to know, and you need to know. The United States is with you, and many people around the world I’m with you.”
The bar crowd may have cheered him on, but back home some conservatives cringed at the display as Kharkov came under attack and the Israel-Gaza war escalated.
During a diplomatic visit to Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken played “Rockin’ in the Free World” at a bar. ((Photo by: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/POOL/AFP, Getty Images))
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“Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is playing guitar in a Kiev bar after going to Ukraine and pledging American taxes to the end,” wrote Greg Price of the National Freedom Caucus Network.
“There’s nothing to see here, just Secretary of State Antony Blinken giving away another $80 billion and partying in a bar in Ukraine,” video journalist Nick Souter wrote. Ta. “Those people hate us.”
“Secretary of State Anthony Blinken plays guitar in Ukraine while the world burns,” pro-Trump influencer Brick Suit wrote. “We gave them $80 billion and he was able to work at a bar.”
“As I’ve said 100 times before… there are too many failed theater kids, actors and musicians in politics,” former “The View” co-host Meghan McCain wrote.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (left) greets U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) before their meeting in Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Ukraine Presidential Press Office, via AP)
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“What about real life?” asked commentator Dave Rubin.
new york times I smiled bitterly Young’s song was never a “rah-rah” anthem about America.
“Critics may question the choice of this song. The Canadian-born Mr. Young is not an American nationalist, and the song’s lyrics are a sharp depiction of America’s current state of drug-addicted young mothers. “A kinder nation,” the Times report said, making a mockery of President George H.W. Bush’s promise of a ‘kindergartener’.
But the fact that the comment went viral, following Blinken’s earlier speech in which his support for Ukraine was “less than a hit on social media,” seemed like a coup for the State Department. He added that it was something.
of The Washington Post reported Despite the music’s timing, diplomats believed it would “still hammer home the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine in its fight against the Kremlin,” the anonymous source said.
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“Anyway, this is Wonderwall,” joked radio host Dana Loesch.
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“Could Biden’s foreign policy get any more embarrassing?” asked Rep. Eli Crane, Republican of Arizona.
“We are not a serious country anymore,” wrote the conservative social media account ForAmerica.
FOX News’ Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
