Russia wants Kamala Harris to win the US presidential election, President Vladimir Putin said today, citing, in what Reuters reported as a playful comment, her “infectious” laugh as a reason to favor her over Donald Trump.
Putin was speaking a day after the US Justice Department indicted two Russian media executives for allegedly plotting to influence the November election by spreading pro-Russian propaganda.
The Kremlin leader had said earlier this year, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race — in another comment widely seen as not to be taken literally — that he preferred him to Trump because Biden is more predictable. “old school” politician.
US intelligence agencies believe that Russia actually wants Trump to win because he is less committed to supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia.
How Putin sees the US elections
Asked how he sees the election now, Putin told an economic forum in the Russian Far East that it is the choice of the American people.
But he then added that, as Biden urged his supporters to support Harris, “we’re going to do the same, we’re going to support her.”
Putin and the moderator were both smiling when he made the comment, which drew applause from the audience.
Elaborating on Harris, Putin said: “She laughs so expressively and contagiously that it means everything is fine with her,” Putin said.
He added that this might mean he would avoid imposing further sanctions on Russia. In contrast, Putin said that Trump, as president, had imposed more sanctions on Russia than any other occupant of the White House before him.
“Ultimately, the choice belongs to the American people, and we will respect that choice,” the Kremlin leader concluded.
What US intelligence agencies say
US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia conducted a disinformation campaign to boost Trump’s campaign against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and sought to undermine Clinton’s.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied meddling in the US election, although the late Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who founded mercenary group Wagner and was accused by the US of running Russian “troll farms”, boasted in 2022: “We have intervened, we intervene and we will continue to intervene”.
Yesterday, Wednesday, the US Justice Department filed money laundering charges against two executives of Russia’s state-run RT network over a plan, US officials say, to hire a US company to produce online content aimed at influencing this year’s election.
In retaliation, Moscow will target American media, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today.
#Russia #Kamala #Harris #win #Putin #trolling
