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The State Department is stuck on repeat.
The department has come under fire for tweeting out Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s “latest recommended playlist” on Spotify eight times since mid-December – leading many to question its priorities.
On Sunday, the State Department shared a link to Blinken’s Spotify profile, urging followers to “listen to some tunes from around the world” and follow the secretary on the music platform.
The link brings users to the secretary’s Spotify profile, which has three playlists: one for “at home,” another for “on the road” and the third for Blinken’s travels in the UK, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
“Part of my job includes promoting people-to-people diplomacy and forging ties with other nations through a shared love of culture, education, music, food, and more. Here are some of my favorite songs of this year by American artists that I hope folks enjoy listening to around the world as well,” the description for the “At Home” playlist reads.
State Department spokesman Ned Price touted the playlists over the weekend, calling Blinken the “top diplomat with a musical ear.”
“As @Deadline noted, putting together a global end-of-year @Spotify playlist is ‘a bit of a cultural and diplomatic exercise.’ Who better for the task than @SecBlinken, our top diplomat with a musical ear,” Price wrote.
Sunday’s tweet was the eighth time the State Department had shared Blinken’s Spotify profile since Dec. 10. Each time, the department drew the ire of Republicans and critics who questioned its use of resources.
“WE HAVE AMERICANS STILL TRAPPED IN AFGHANISTAN,” Former Trump Treasury Department official Monica Crowley raged in response to the
State Department’s Dec. 18 Spotify tweet.
Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) echoed that sentiment Monday in response to Sunday’s promotion.
“There are still Americans stranded in Afghanistan, @SecBlinken…,” he wrote.
“Americans were left to the mercy of the Taliban, but check out this playlist…,” tweeted Texas GOP congressional candidate Wesley Hunt.
“I’m sure the Americans still stranded in Afghanistan will appreciate having this playlist to listen to as they’re forced to live under Taliban rule,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) chimed in. “This is how unserious this administration is.”
Others took issue with the repeated promotion of Blinken’s playlists.
“It’s impossible to have not heard the news considering how many times the @StateDept, @SecBlinken, and @StateDeptSpox have tweeted and/or retweeted this! I think it may have collectively been like 6 times?!?” Townhall web editor Rebecca Downs wrote.
“The only reason for State to tweet Blinken’s Spotify playlist THIS many times (while failing at every other aspect of their jobs) is someone wants to work at Spotify Comms or Government Affairs in a next job,” Republican communicator Matt Whitlock tweeted.
“We’re at like 8 times they’ve tweeted this out now. Just bizarre,” he added in another post.
Some took their complaint to Price.
“Embarrassing,” RealClear Investigations deputy editor Benjamin Weingarten tweeted in response to the spokesman’s post.
“Suggested New Year’s resolutions for the State Dept: 1) To make the deterrence of China, Russia and Iran our top priorities. 2) To stop wasting time on activities that reveal that we still haven’t recovered from being uninvited to the parties of the cool kids in high school,” tweeted Hudson Institute senior fellow Michael Doran.
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