Is it true that the son of the US Secretary of State came to the White House for Halloween dressed as Zelensky?

At the end of October 2023, photographs and videos from a festive reception held in Washington circulated on the Russian-language segment of the Internet. It is alleged that Antony Blinken dressed his son as the president of Ukraine. We have checked whether these reports are true.

As reported in the media and Telegram channels, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought his son to the White House to celebrate Halloween wearing a khaki jumper that parodied the casual work suit of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Many saw this as a mockery, because children on Halloween traditionally ask adults for sweets, and the Ukrainian leader regularly appeals to his partners to help Kyiv with weapons and money. Some authors also drew readers' attention to the fact that Blinken's daughter, who came to the holiday, was dressed in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

Among others, the unusual choice of Halloween costume for the son of an American official was reported Ura.ru, "Moskovsky Komsomolets", Absatz.media, TV channelConstantinople" And "Public news service" The news aroused wide interest on Telegram, where it was disseminated, in particular, by the channels “Ax 18+"(1.7 million views at the time of writing this analysis), Mash (958,000), "Live broadcast"(676,000), "Nearestovich"(492,000), "Resident"(381,000), "Maria Zakharova" (373,000) and "Older than the Edda"(371,000).

Halloween - a relatively modern holiday, the tradition of celebrating which on the eve of All Saints' Day (October 31) goes back to the beliefs of the ancient Celts who lived in the territory of modern Ireland and Scotland. At the end of the 19th century, thanks to numerous Irish immigrants, the holiday gained popularity in the United States, and a century later it spread to many countries of the world, where the influence of American culture is strong. One of the key rituals of Halloween is children walking from house to house in unusual costumes and begging the owners for treats (in some countries, money).

In 1958, the tradition of celebrating Halloween came to the White House. At first these were colorfully decorated dinners for the wives of employees of the American presidential administration, but since the 1960s, when children appeared among the permanent residents of the residence, the ritual gradually grew into parties with the participation of dozens and hundreds of invited schoolchildren, and, more recently, military families. 2023 was no exception. On October 30, the eve of the holiday night, US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill accepted about 8,000 guests, who were treated to colorful costumed events and, of course, gifts - books and sweets.

Among the guests were government officials and their families. IN broadcast on the official White House YouTube channel and through the lenses of the world media (CBS News, The Independent) there was footage of the children of Secretary of State Antony Blinken approaching the Biden couple for a treat. At the head of the US foreign policy department and his wife Evan Ryan two children: four-year-old son and three-year-old daughter. Their names are kept secret for reasons of security and privacy, and parents do not cover the lives of their children on social networks. However, that day the kids were the center of attention.

Indeed, as can be seen in close-ups, the boy’s outfit strongly resembles the khaki work suit worn by President Vladimir Zelensky, which has become familiar since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine. In the same clothes, the head of state visited the USA in 2022 and met with Biden. In the place where on the boy’s sweatshirt you can see an icon in the form of the American and Ukrainian flags, Zelensky had a trident from the coat of arms of Ukraine.

There can be little doubt that Blinken Jr.’s suit was intended to be reminiscent of Zelensky, as evidenced by the clothes in the colors of the Ukrainian flag (blue dress with a yellow scarf) on his sister. Many large companies are sure of this Western And Ukrainian Media. It’s just that their presentation of the symbolism of this act differs from the rhetoric of pro-Russian publications. In particular, in Ukraine itself, Blinken Jr.’s outfit was viewed calmly and even benevolently - the media regarded this act as a sign of support. A similar relationship can be seen in western press: it would be strange to expect mocking subtext from Blinken, which with enviable regularity speaks about support for Ukraine. At the same time, there was no direct confirmation from the Secretary of State about the source of inspiration for the image of his son at the time of writing the analysis, so here we can only talk about the extremely high probability that the boy was dressed in Zelensky’s suit.

Cover photo: screenshot The White House

Most likely true

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