It is not unusual to ask what in the world this administration is doing on any given day. Let’s look at Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Ukraine this week.
The unannounced trip to Kyiv by Blinken was described as one to bolster spirits in Ukraine as Russia gains ground. He reassured them that Ukrainians are not alone and that billions of American dollars in military aid are on the way.
Two things received attention in the media and on social media – Blinken was torched for using a knife and fork while eating pizza, and he played guitar while singing a Neil Young song in a bar.
Let’s take the guitar playing and singing first. Did he understand how the video of that indulgence would land back home? Was he doing a modern-day version of fiddling as Rome burned? Good Lord. Ukraine is at war, a war for survival against the brutal Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, yet here is the U.S. secretary of state enjoying an evening out in a war zone, looking as though he didn’t have a care in the world.
Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, plays guitar at a bar in Kyiv, in a war zone, after meeting with, delivering, and promising more aid to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Do you think he has better things to do in a war zone?#oan #blinken #guitar #ukraine #kyiv #war… pic.twitter.com/GiYtpqV962
— One America News (@OANN) May 14, 2024
It’s not a bad performance, that’s not the point. The point is that it was wildly inappropriate behavior coming from the secretary of state, especially now.
After a day of meetings with senior officials, civil society figures, and university students when he exhorted them against being discouraged, Blinken took to the stage at a bar in Ukraine’s capital to play rhythm guitar and sing with a local band on Neil Young’s 1989 hit “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
The performance, and a series of sunny comments from Blinken about Ukraine’s battlefield prospects, was a startling juxtaposition to what analysts have called one of the most dangerous moments for Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russian forces have taken swaths of territory along Ukraine’s northeast border, and thousands of civilians in the Kharkiv region have fled the increasingly intense attacks.
Blinken spoke to students at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. “The coming weeks and months will demand a great deal of Ukrainians, who have already sacrificed so much. I’ve come to Ukraine with a message: You are not alone.” He tried to remain upbeat. “Putin has it wrong — time is on Ukraine’s side. As the war goes on, Russia is going back in time. Ukraine is moving forward.”
Now let’s talk about the restaurant where Blinken ate pizza with Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Foreign Minister. News reports said that “Veterano Pizza” restaurant was founded by a war veteran. The two men were served a Ukrainian variation of pizza with ham and onion. Blinken was mocked for using a fork and knife. Heh.
It sounded innocent enough but then something caught my eye on social media. The restaurant was described as a neo-Nazi establishment.
Blinken goes for dinner in a restaurant which displays both neo-Nazi insignia and also commemorative photo of Odessa arson in which Ukrainian neo-Nazis burned dozens of Russian-speaking Ukrainians alive.
— Stephen McIntyre (@ClimateAudit) May 15, 2024
Craig Lang, mentioned in video linked above as an American patron of Blinken’s neo-Nazi pizza hangout in Kyiv, has lurid criminal history reported at Grayzone here https://t.co/PnaLPg5BLK. Lang has been previously involved with Ukrainian torture of Donbas and with US-backed…
— Stephen McIntyre (@ClimateAudit) May 16, 2024
That is not a good story. Didn’t anyone vet where Blinken was going to eat? It was better when he ate at McDonald’s during a previous visit.
“I am pleased to inform you that we enjoyed two Ukrainian pizzas. One of them is actually called ‘Ukrainian.’ And we had a productive conversation over this meal. Last time Tony and I went to McDonald’s in Kyiv which reopened its doors in Ukraine. But some people criticized me on social media that I took you to McDonald’s, not to a Ukrainian place. So now we are correcting this and complementing McDonald’s with a pizza place that was founded by Ukrainian veterans and became a legendary place already. I hope you enjoyed the pizzas because you definitely have more experience in trying pies all over the world.”
It’s not the knife and fork in the story that should have caused a stir. It’s the neo-Nazism. Yeesh.
This administration is the gang that couldn’t shoot straight.