UPDATED: Pranksters got a bunch of Trump supporters to wave Russian flags at CPAC
Today’s Conservative Political Action Conference was a more multicultural event than one might expect from a gathering of some of the loudest voices in conservative politicking. Not on purpose, of course; that would be absurd. But thanks to the actions of one clever person with an appreciation for mischievousness and an accurate assessment of people’s ability to distinguish national banners, a bunch of Trump supporters ended up waving Russian flags emblazoned with the president’s name during his speech.
Per The New York Post, a Maryland man named Jason Charter, whose Facebook profile lists his place of work as the progressive organizing group Grassroots Campaigns Inc., handed out tiny red, white, and blue Trump flags to members of the cheering crowd, who merrily waved them as they watched their hero outline his personal Cold War with the national news media. But the flags in question weren’t Old Glory; instead, they bore the white, blue, and red bars of the Russian flag, with Trump’s name stamped in the center in gold. Trump staffers were reportedly quick to confiscate the offending items, but a few pictures made it out via social media before they could.
UPDATE: A second prankster, 36-year-old Ryan Clayton, has come forward to claim credit for the flags. You can read an interview with both Clayton and Charter over at The Atlantic.