- The State Department has repeatedly pushed out the new playlist on Twitter
- It includes ‘traitor’ by Olivia Rodrigo and ‘State of Grace (Taylor’s Version)’ by Taylor Swift
- House GOP Whip Steve Scalise blasted the move and pointed to the botched Afghanistan withdrawal
- Blinken plays in a rock band and put songs on Spotify in 2018
Guitar-playing Secretary of State Antony Blinken is being mocked by GOP lawmakers after the State Department repeatedly pushed out his Spotify playlist over the holidays amid a feared Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Blinken, who started a band that he said played ‘wonk rock’ before becoming President Joe Biden‘s top diplomat, has compiled a list of 17 songs for listeners on the music app.
The State Department tweeted out the list four times in the run-up to New Years, hyping the list like a diplomatic breakthrough or a new hit single.
‘Have you heard the news? @SecBlinken is now on @Spotify! Check out his latest recommended playlist, listen to some tunes from around the world, and follow the Secretary here,’ the agency wrote, with a link to Blinken’s chosen tunes.
It featured such songs as ‘traitor’ by Olivia Rodrigo, ‘I See You’ by Aimee Mann, and ‘State of Grace (Taylor’s Version)’ by Taylor Swift.
Some could have diplomatic double meanings, like ‘You Should Probably Leave’ by Chris Stapleton – but GOP lawmakers were unimpressed, at a time when Russia has amassed an estimated 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine amid fears of a new invasion.
