CPAC attendees wave Russian flags ahead of Trump speech

(Image credit: Olivier Douliery - Pool/Getty Images)

last updated 24 February 2017

Update 4:02 p.m.: Jason Charter and Ryan Clayton of the anti-Trump activist group Americans Take Action have taken credit for passing out the flags before President Trump's speech, BuzzFeed News reports. Our original post appears below.

President Trump has repeatedly expressed his intent to "get along well" with Russia, although some of his critics worry about exactly how friendly he means to be. Certainly this stunt will do nothing to lessen their concerns: At CPAC on Friday, someone passed out Russian flags emblazoned with the word "Trump" to the audience.

The optics apparently sparked some concern. Staffers quickly confiscated the flags:

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Snap Inc.'s Peter Hamby reports that the flags weren't a rogue move by protesters — rather, they were passed out by "unwitting college kids," who, judging by their sense of humor, might want to pick up a copy of next week's New Yorker.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.