Roger Waters, who was a founding member of the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965 and now enjoys a large following as a solo act, also has outspoken anti-neocon views, particularly in his support for Julian Assange and his opposition to the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. He has called Biden a war criminal for his role in arming Ukraine. Waters is currently touring the U.S. and is making these messages an integral part of his performance, causing anxiety among the narrative managers.
CNN deployed presenter Michael Smerconish to interview Waters on Smerconish’s Saturday morning show, Aug. 6. The strategy was to play the gushing rock fan, and then manipulate Waters into “walking back” his political views. Smerconish was ill-prepared to take on Waters. Here are some excerpts:
CNN host says, you used to attack Trump. Why would you call Biden a war criminal?
WATERS: “Well, he’s fuelling the fire in the Ukraine for a start—that is a huge crime. Why won’t the United States of America encourage Zelenskyy to negotiate, obviating the need for this horrific, horrendous war that’s killing we don’t know how many Ukrainians and Russians?”
CNN: “But you’re blaming the party that got invaded. You’ve got it reversed.”
WATERS: “...this war is basically about the action and reaction of NATO pushing right up to the Russian border, which they promised they wouldn’t do when Gorbachev negotiated the withdrawal of the U.S.S.R. from the whole of Eastern Europe.”
CNN: “What about our role as liberators?”
