White House defends Chinese COVID protesters after attacking Americans and Canadians

The White House is offering coy support to protesters in China who are speaking out against Beijing’s draconian “zero-COVID” lockdown policies.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said tuesday that “we have been very clear, people have the right to demonstrate without fear”.

It’s quite a change from the vile and often vicious attacks the White House has launched against Americans who opposed draconian COVID policies. Or Canadians, for that matter.

National security spokesman John Kirby said “a lockdown is not a policy that we support here,” but Chinese protesters “obviously…have concerns about it.”

“And they’re protesting that, and we think they should be able to do that peacefully,” he added.

These words seem to be falling on ears, as the Chinese authorities reacted quickly and violently to quell the protests.

The uprising’s breaking point appears to be a building fire that killed 10 people. Video shows firefighters appearing to be blocked from reaching victims by virus screening barriers, with some suggesting residents couldn’t leave due to restrictions.

Tucker Carlson blasted the Biden administration’s weak response when asked if it supports protests against the Chinese communist regime:pic.twitter.com/mvMd0h0TgO

— Tea Party Patriots (@TPPatriots) November 29, 2022

RELATED: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issues stronger condemnation of freedom convoy crackdown than some Republicans

The White House pressured Canada to crack down on the Freedom Convoy

To be sure, the White House’s response to China’s crackdown on protesters has been incredibly soft and gentle.

Senator Marco Rubio has offered his theory on why the administration can’t bring itself to offer a full-throated defense of the lockdown protests – Because there are similarities between their beliefs and those of the Communist Chinese government.

“It’s very weak and I think part of it is the awareness that there are people in the president’s party, the Democratic Party, who are governors, mayors, people in different parts of the country. who actually wanted people arrested and in some cases did, who wanted people fined and businesses shut down, who got people off planes, who had all kinds of things going passed and all kinds of restrictions.

Rubio rightly noted that the lockdown measures and crackdown on protests in America do not match the violence perpetrated by Chinese authorities.

That said, the pathetic response to Chinese repression just comes days after a report that Top Biden administration officials have pressured Canada to crush a “freedom convoy” protest by truckers opposed to vaccination mandates.

The New York Post reports that “frantic phone calls” have been made by White House officials – including White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg – urging their Canadian counterparts to “ clear the truckers blocking parts of the northern border of the United States”. ”

The protest would later migrate to Ottawa, where the truckers would be “forced” to relocate with their frozen bank accountswhile the leaders of the protest have been arrested and criminally charged.

The Canadian protesters were threatened with seizure of their vehicles, fines and revocation of their permits. Children were used like pawns. The authorities even threatened to seize truckers pets on the pretext of being for the safety of the animal.

Footage emerged of an elderly woman being clamped down with others trampled by police horses.

Power corrupts. When you let the power of your government go unchecked, that’s what happens. History has proven this fact many times. Freedom is not free, the left does not see it, it is not because you agree with your government today that you will agree with it tomorrow #freedomconvoy22 pic.twitter.com/UNHmKkD9dC

—Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) February 19, 2022

Another video from this time shows a policeman using the butt of their weapon to surround a protester.

The police drag one of the Freedom Convoy demonstrators and beat the individual.

Keep an eye on the scene as the person is dragged away in the background by police and repeatedly struck with what looks like a gun. pic.twitter.com/jxRKlR5ZFU

— Marie Oakes (@TheMarieOakes) February 18, 2022

RELATED: After invoking emergency powers, Trudeau announces that Canada will ‘oppose authoritarianism’ and announces sanctions against Russia

Media hypocrisy

The White House isn’t the only entity to voice support for the protests in China, a totally hypocritical contradiction to how the “freedom convoy” has been handled.

Their media cohorts are also singing a different tune, providing supportive and sympathetic coverage of the ongoing crackdown in Beijing — as it should be.

But it’s not something they’ve ever offered Americans or Canadians.

CNN, for example, calls the protest in China an “unprecedented challenge to Xi Jinping’s zero Covid policy.”

They note the fatigue caused by the long confinements, as well as “the continuous attack on personal freedoms”.

The reports reflect a sense of understanding of the bubbling frustrations. But they didn’t care about those things when the truckers protested.

Recall, if you will, CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem who responded to the “freedom convoy” by demanding that police take drastic action, including slashing their tires and carrying out arrests.

“Punching tires, emptying gas tanks, arresting drivers and moving trucks,” Kayyem wrote.

Do you remember this gem? pic.twitter.com/xU5fjyZzpE

—Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) November 28, 2022

The media has repeatedly called the truckers “insurgents,’ a label intended to convey negative connotations. Now that the “insurgents” in China are on the right side of things, they won’t dare to use that word anymore.

The Chinese protesters are heroes. The Canadian protesters? Trumpian rubies.

Compare this to the liberal media applaud Biden to “screw” unvaccinated Americans.

Truckers have also been smeared by the media as ‘white supremacists.’

Republicans not getting a pass on that either.

While they complained about the White House responding weakly to China’s current protests, they weren’t exactly holding press conferences on the steps of the Capitol, taking a stand against Canada’s forceful crackdown.

It will be interesting to see how the current White House, media and lawmakers manage their support for protesters in China and amplify their voices against violent crackdowns.

Especially after leaving the “freedom convoy” in the cold.