New York.– The Russian leader and the former US president have exchanged compliments in the past, to the point that in the US there is talk of them having a kind of “bromance” (romance between friends).
Support Harris
Although Russia was unusually close to Washington during Donald Trump’s presidency, Vladimir Putin now says that in the current US election he is not supporting the Republican candidate but his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris.
Putin made the ironic comment a day after the US Justice Department charged two Russian media executives with an alleged illegal scheme to influence the November election with pro-Russian propaganda.
“Biden has recommended to his voters to support Ms. Harris, so we will support her too,” Putin said with a smile yesterday at an economic forum in Vladivostok.
American analysts believe that Moscow prefers Trump because he could reduce military and financial aid to Ukraine. In that sense, Putin’s statement could simply be a strategy to obscure Russian intentions.
Campaign support
Putin authorized interference operations to help Trump in the 2020 election, while his 2016 campaign benefited from hacking by Russian intelligence agents and a covert effort on social media, according to U.S. law enforcement and intelligence services.
Trump called the Russian “a genius” and “pretty smart” when he invaded Ukraine in 2022. In 2018, he put Putin’s word that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 election over strong FBI evidence showing otherwise. During his first election campaign, Trump not only refused to criticize Putin, but said he was “highly respected.”
Miss Universe
In 2013, Trump even brought the Miss Universe pageant to Moscow.
“Do you think Putin will go to the Miss Universe pageant?” Trump tweeted on June 18, 2013, when he made the announcement. “If so, will he become my new best friend?”
Years later, Trump claimed to “know Russia well” because of the Miss Universe pageant.
“I had a major event in Russia two or three years ago, which was a huge, unbelievable event.” Asked if he had met Putin around the time of the event, Trump declined to answer, but said, “I met a lot of people.”
“And you know what?” he continued. “They want to be friends with the United States. Wouldn’t it be nice if we actually got along with someone?”
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