Russia feigns indifference over U.S. election but roots quietly for Trump - WashingtonPost
MOSCOW — It appeared to be Russia’s strongest endorsement of a U.S. presidential candidate to date. Asked whether he had a preference for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a sly smile.
“Our ‘favorite,’ if you can call it that, was the current president, Mr. Biden,” he told the audience at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in September. “But he was removed from the race, and he recommended all his supporters to support Ms. Harris. Well, we will do so — we will support her,” he added, his voice laced with irony, as he complimented her “expressive and infectious laugh.”
The Russian leader’s tongue-in-cheek remarks were a light, geopolitical gibe designed to mask a sense in Moscow that Russia would have a lot more to gain from a second Trump presidency even as it publicly downplays the importance of Tuesday’s U.S. elections.
In a clear sign of its interest, the Kremlin and Russia’s military intelligence service have directed multiple disinformation campaigns targeting Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, as well as casting doubt on the validity of the vote, according to U.S. officials and documents previously reported on by The Washington Post.
Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has sought to undermine Western support for Ukraine, promoting far-right isolationist views, and Trump’s candidacy dovetails with Moscow’s agenda, as he has repeatedly criticized U.S. spending on aid for Kyiv.
In Moscow, however, the mood on the surface so far is more muted and pointedly nonchalant than in past election years.
In 2016, Russia’s lower house of parliament, the state Duma, erupted in applause after Donald Trump was declared that election’s victor. Conservative activists organized election parties in Moscow, while Russian propagandists heralded Trump’s win as a new era for U.S.-Russian ties. Putin congratulated Trump on his victory in a telegram, expressing his hope that the new president would work with him to help “lead Russian-American relations out of their current state of crisis.”
But in the eight years since, relations have only worsened, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Last year, Putin rescinded Russia’s ratification of the Nuclear Ban Treaty, which prohibited nuclear test explosions. And the dialogue between Moscow and Washington on matters of strategic security has all but dried up.
Trump has suggested that he could improve ties, frequently speaking admiringly of Putin and telling Tucker Carlson, in an interview on Thursday, that he would pull Russia out of its deepening alliance with China and claiming repeatedly that he could stop the fighting in Ukraine in a day. Few in Moscow, however, say they believe Trump can pull off a complete turnaround in relations — especially after little changed during his first term.
“Of course they want Trump — that’s clear — but the result of this election will not be a game changer for Russia,” said a former Kremlin official who still operates in government circles and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. “The situation has become truly terrible. U.S.-Russian relations are in deadlock. And everyone is a hostage of it — even Putin.”
Russian state media has striven to cast the upcoming election as the trigger for a “new civil war” in America, while propagandists have disproportionately attacked Harris and defended Trump, analysts say, recycling insults made by far-right outlets in the United States and repeating Kremlin statements.
Inside Russia’s elite there is a growing expectation that Donald Trump will win and that if he does, there could be a chance to end the war with Ukraine on Moscow’s terms and potentially redraw the global security map.
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