Antony Blinken Confronted by Reporter at Kissinger’s 100th Birthday Party: ‘What is There to Celebrate About Henry Kissinger?’

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken was confronted by a reporter upon leaving former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s 100th birthday party in New York City on Monday.

“Mister Secretary, Jonathan Guyer with Vox. What is there to celebrate about Henry Kissinger?” asked Vox senior foreign policy writer Jonathan Guyer. “Mister Secretary, I know he was an interviewee for your thesis … What is there to celebrate about Henry Kissinger?”

The confrontation took place as Blinken could be seen walking down the red-carpeted steps at the New York Public Library, where Kissinger — who turned 100 on May 27 — celebrated his birthday on Monday.

Other attendees, according to Guyer, included USAID administrator Samantha Power, CIA director William J. Burns, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and Archbishop of New York Timothy M. Dolan.

“So who came out to celebrate Henry Kissinger’s 100th? Billionaires, Biden’s people, and many a retired diplomat,” wrote Guyer, who called it “curious, perhaps even scandalous” that the celebration was private and “closed to the press.”

Kissinger’s 100th birthday last month was met with a mixed response in the media.

While the Washington Post published a tribute to Kissinger, penned by his son David Kissinger, the Guardian published an article titled, “Henry Kissinger turns 100 this week. He should be ashamed to be seen in public.”

“Kissinger at 100: Statesman or war criminal? His troubled legacy,” read another article published by the Guardian, while the Nation published a piece titled, “Henry Kissinger, War Criminal—Still at Large at 100.”

MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan marked Kissinger’s birthday with a segment pointing out “the many, many people around the world who didn’t get to live ’til 100, or even 60, 70, or 80 because of Henry Kissinger.”