Blinken tries to lift Ukrainian spirits with ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’
The Secretary of State took the stage at a bar in Kyiv after meeting with Ukrainian officials. (Video: The Associated Press)
As the war in Ukraine rages on, the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken faced online backlash from conservatives for playing guitar at a bar in Kyiv.
A video went viral on Tuesday of Blinken playing Neil Young’s "Rockin’ in the Free World" with a band called 19.99.
"I know this is a really, really difficult time," Blinken told the audience present. "Your soldiers, your citizens, particularly in the northeast in Kharkiv, are suffering tremendously. But they need to know, you need to know, the United States is with you, so much of the world is with you."
The audience in the bar may have cheered him on, but back home some conservatives cringed at the display as Kharkiv is under attack and the Israel-Gaza war rages.
During a diplomatic visit to Ukraine, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken played "Rockin' in the Free World" in a bar. ((Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images))
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"Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is playing guitar at a bar in Kyiv after going to Ukraine and pledging them American tax dollars until the end of time," State Freedom Caucus Network’s Greg Price wrote.
"Nothing to see here. Just Secretary of State Antony Blinken partying at a bar in Ukraine after delivering them another $80 BILLION," video journalist Nick Sortor wrote. "These people hate us."
"Secretary of State Anthony Blinken playing guitar in Ukraine while the world burns," pro-Trump influencer Brick Suit wrote. "We gave them $80 billion and he got a gig in a bar."
"As I have said a hundred times before…. there are too many failed theatre kids/actors/musicians in politics," former "The View" co-host Meghan McCain wrote.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, greets U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, prior to their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
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"How is this real life?" commentator Dave Rubin asked.
The New York Times wryly noted Young's song was hardly a "rah rah" anthem about the United States.
"Critics might question the song choice: the Canadian-born Mr. Young is no American nationalist, and the song’s lyrics are cutting about the state of an America with young mothers addicted to drugs, and mocked President George H.W. Bush’s promise of a ‘kinder, gentler’ nation," a Times report stated.
However, it added the fact it went viral was something of a coup for the State Department after Blinken's earlier speech after support for Ukraine going forward was "something less than a hit on social media."
The Washington Post reported that diplomats thought that despite the timing of the music, it would "still drive home the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine in its struggle against the Kremlin," according to an anonymous official.
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"So anyway, here's Wonderwall," radio host Dana Loesch joked about it.
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"Could Biden’s foreign policy be any more embarrassing?" Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., asked.
"We're not a serious country anymore," conservative social media account ForAmerica wrote.
Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
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