WASHINGTON, DC —Hour Before the President Joe Biden went to Ukraineanti-war protesters gathered at Monument and marched to the White House with the goal of repelling the administration’s approval of funding foreign wars. However, while the event attempted to capture the general anti-war theme, attendees had a different idea: Vladimir Putin is no bad guy.
At the “Rage Against War Machines” rally on Sunday afternoon, about half a dozen Russian flags flew in the air, and two more Soviet flags flew. There is no lack of sympathy for Putin, who has commit war crimes in the ongoing and bloody war against Ukraine.
“He is a nationalist leader, and we need more. America needs more of them,” protest participant Suzanne Wilson, from Santa Barbara, California, stated of Putin in an interview with The Daily Beast while waving the Russian flag in her right hand. She then praised “those who are willing to resist [against] this hegemony of the United States.”
Suzanne Wilson, from Santa Barbara, California.
Zachary Petrizzo/The Daily Beast
“We need more of these leaders in the United States who put the people and the interests of the people as well as the economy—they have to put that first. Not foreign wars. Who does that benefit? Industrialists.”
Wilson then took aim at the Biden administration.
“How do we benefit from sending money abroad to build the Ukrainian war machine,” she asked before answering her question by saying that the United States did not benefit.
Likewise, Colette Burghardt, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, argues that Putin is a victim of the United States viewing him as the bad guy.
“They have been vilifying Russians for years,” she said, adding that Putin is a “patriotic Russian.” “And the idea that he has no business to invade Ukraine…. what else can he do? He’s surrounded by NATO, and we’re launching missiles at Pollan and arming Ukraine – and should he support that? I mean, that’s ridiculous. Really, he could do nothing but invade. And try to get America out of Ukraine.”
Brian Harris, who told The Daily Beast that he belongs to the American socialist group Center for Political Innovation, has expressed frustration with the Biden administration, which comes from the left in views. presidential policy.
“I think they always use something trivial to instill fear,” he said of the administration’s act of shooting down balloons into US airspace, comparing the action to the spread of the virus. wide of “black propaganda.”
Harris was indifferent to the waving of the Russian flag, saying it “depends” on the motives of the individuals waving the flag, but said that “the rise of American power abroad is positive.”
Such affection was shared by before Democratic congressman Tulsi Gabbardwho said from the main stage that “the proxy we are fighting against Russia today could turn at any moment into a direct conflict between the United States [and] NATO and Russia.” Gabbard then suggested that the Cold War could happen again.
“Intentionally or unintentionally, there is only one destination for such war, and that is nuclear holocaust,” she added.
Other speakers at the National Mall include former Democratic congressman Dennis KucinichGreen Party presidential candidate failed Dr. Jill Steinand the Liberal Party presidential candidate Ron Paul. For the crowd, it was a mixed bag, with some wearing far-right InfoWars t-shirts while others wore Pride-themed outfits.
Around the middle of the rally, five protesters carrying pro-Ukrainian banners and Ukrainian flags appeared. The unofficial leader of their anti-Russian contingent, Riley Geary, covered the Ukrainian flag from head to toe and didn’t throw any punches.
The unofficial leader of the anti-Russian team, Riley Geary, wears a blue and yellow shirt.
Zachary Petrizzo
“I just told them to go back to Russia, where they belong,” he told The Daily Beast, targeting a group of protesters carrying Russian flags nearby. He called Putin a “war criminal” and completed a brief interview with The Daily Beast by referring to those who attended the Russian-flagged rally as “paid Russian spies.”
The event ended with a slow march north of the White House, where attendees clashed with other pro-Ukrainian protesters.
“Let’s go to the Russian embassy,” a man carrying a Ukrainian flag told an anti-war protester from a larger group who had walked from the Monument. “The Russian house is right there! 15 minutes to go!”
A senior White House communications official did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment on this story.
