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US election: Putin claims to prefer Harris over Trump

September 5, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed to prefer Kamala Harris as the next US president, not Donald Trump. The White House said he should "stop talking about US politics."

https://p.dw.com/p/4kKRp
Russian President Vladimir Putin smiles as he answers a question at a Saint Petersburg press conference
Vladimir Putin has a history of making cynical and derisive comments about US leadershipImage: Sergey Petrov/NEWS.ru/globallookpress.com/picture alliance

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said he would prefer to see Democrat Kamala Harris win the US presidential election and not Republican nominee Donald Trump

Largely seen as a cynical attempt to swing the November election Trump's way — and clearly an effort to sow confusion — Putin smiled as he told a gathering in St. Petersburg, "Firstly, [US President Joe] Biden recommended all his supporters support Mrs. Harris. Here, we are going to do that too, we're going to support her."

"She laughs so contagiously that it shows that everything is fine with her," Putin continued, "[Former US President Donald] Trump has imposed as many sanctions on Russia as any president has ever imposed before, and if Harris is doing well, perhaps she will refrain from such actions."

The comments echo two Trump claims, that Harris' laugh suggests "she's crazy" and that "no one was tougher on Russia" despite the fact that he repeatedly voiced his glowing admiration for strongman Putin during his one term in office.

Then US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland in 2018
Trump famously told the world he trusted ex-spy Putin more than US intelligence services ,while claiming to be 'tough on Russia'Image: Leonhard Foeger/REUTERS

Putin's comments came just one day after the US accused Moscow of election interference, issuing criminal indictments against two employees at Russia's state-run RT news and leveling sanctions against two RT editors.

US national security spokesman John Kirby, speaking from the White House on Thursday, said, "The only people who should get to determine who the next president of United States is are the American people, and we would greatly appreciate it if Mr. Putin would, a) stop talking about our election, and b) stop interfering in it."

Putin and Trump: A new axis against NATO and Ukraine?

js/jcg (AFP, Reuters)