- Pink Floyd's Roger Waters defended Russia and China in an interview with CNN.
- He said Biden was "fueling the fire in Ukraine," and used Russian talking points.
Legendary Pink Floyd rocker Roger Waters dived into international politics in a recent interview with CNN, saying President Joe Biden was making the war in Ukraine worse and repeating Russian talking points by blaming NATO for Putin's unprovoked invasion earlier this year.
During Waters' latest solo tour, he displays a montage of people he believes to be "war criminals," including Biden. He told CNN's Michael Smerconish he faults Biden for continuing the crisis in Ukraine.
"He's fueling the fire in the Ukraine for a start, that is a huge crime," Waters said. "Why won't the United States of American encourage Zelensky to negotiate, obviating the need for this horrific, horrendous war?"
Waters said he believes the war is about the "action and reaction of NATO pushing right up to the Russian border" — tilting blame away from Vladimir Putin.
"Try and figure out what the United States would do if the Chinese were putting nuclear-armed missiles into Mexico and Canada," Waters said.
Olexander Scherba, Ukraine's former ambassador to Austria, called Waters a "gutless, heartless, merciless, lost little person," in a tweet.
—olexander scherba (@olex_scherba) August 7, 2022
Waters went on to defend China's actions in Taiwan, saying "Taiwan is part of China."
"If you don't know that, you're not reading enough," Waters said to Smerconish. "Go and read about it."
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently visited the self-governing island, sparking drills and live-fire exercises from the Chinese military.
China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying quickly tweeted out Waters' clip in support of China.
—Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) August 7, 2022
In Waters' tour, he displays a large graphic before the show begins saying: "If you're one of those 'I love Pink Floyd but I can't stand Roger's politics' people you might do well to fuck off to the bar right now."
When asked by Smerconish about the message, Waters said it was a "really good way to start the show."