On Friday morning, hundreds of conservatives gathered to the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). While the attendees were waiting for the arrival of President Donald Trump, they were tricked into waving a controversial flag.
Russia at CPAC
During the entire 2016 president election, the most controversial aspect surrounding the Donald Trump campaign were the rumors involving Russia. As time moved forward heading into Election Day, various news reports circulated and accused Trump and members of his campaign of having ties to the Kremlin.
With Trump unwilling to release his tax returns, speculation has continued to grow about what his potential financial links are to Russia. After it was revealed that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee in favor of Trump with the goal of hurting Hillary Clinton's chance at the presidency, criticism only increased. As reported by The Hill on February 24, Trump supporters were cheering the president on during his CPAC speech on Friday morning, but did it while waving Russian flags.
CPAC attendees wave Russian flags with Trump's name https://t.co/9lNQqDcQ19 pic.twitter.com/JVq3ISGkXj
— The Hill (@thehill) February 24, 2017
Down on the floor of CPAC, individuals were going around handing out free Donald Trump flags.
However, the flags were based off the Russian flag, with the three red, white, and blue stripes. Peter Hamby of SnapChat pointed out what was going on, as Trump supporters could be seen smiling while waving the flag in question.
Crowd at CPAC waving these little pro-Trump flags that look exactly like the Russian flag. Staffers quickly come around to confiscate them. pic.twitter.com/YhPpkwFCNc
— Peter Hamby (@PeterHamby) February 24, 2017
Someone handed out Trump Russian flags on the #CPAC2017 floor before Trump's speech pic.twitter.com/uf1ADMt6ZL
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) February 24, 2017
Taylor Lorenz of The Hill then took to her Twitter account, and documented that security on the floor were informed about what was going on, and started to confiscate the flags from those in the audience.
The latest incident is just another example of the confusion and controversy that has surrounded the White House in regards to their possible relationship with Russia.
Organizers confiscating the flags and threatening anyone caught holding one 🇷🇺 https://t.co/swfMYsYCKu #CPAC2017 pic.twitter.com/PCYfBCi3d3
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) February 24, 2017
Trouble with Russia
The most recent story involving Donald Trump and Russia involves the FBI.
According to NPR, the White House asked the FBI to refute the claims that Trump's advisers and associates had ties to Russia, and to do it in public. The FBI has since declined, which caused the president to target "leakers" involved with the organization during a recent Twitter post.
