Vladimir Putin intends to “support” Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, current vice president of the United States, in the American presidential elections on November 5. The surprise announcement, arrived today during the Eastern Economic Forum taking place from 3 to 6 September in Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East, provoked an angry reaction from the White House which invited the head of the Kremlin to “stop interfering” in the US elections.
President Joe Biden, Putin said slyly, speaking at the plenary meeting, “recommended his voters to support Mrs. Harris, so we will support her too.” “She has such an expressive and contagious laugh that shows she is well,” he added.
The Kremlin chief, publicly esteemed by Republican candidate and Biden’s predecessor from 2017 to 2021 Donald Trump, recalled that no US president has imposed “more sanctions on Russia” than the New York tycoon. Perhaps, Putin continued, Kamala Harris “will refrain from this kind of thing”.
“Our favorite, so to speak, was the current president, Mr. Biden, but he was removed from the race,” the Russian leader stressed. “But in the end,” he said, “the choice is up to the American people, and we will respect that choice. As for the favorites, it is not up to us to determine them.”
Washington’s reaction and Moscow’s threats
A few hours after the Russian president’s comments, the White House called on Putin to “stop meddling” in the US presidential election. “The only people who should decide who the next president of the United States is the American people, and we would greatly appreciate it if Mr. Putin would stop talking about our elections and stop meddling,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a press conference today.
Putin’s statements come just hours after US authorities accused Moscow yesterday of influencing, particularly on social networks, the 2016 presidential election in favor of Donald Trump, who then defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. Yesterday, the US imposed sanctions and opened criminal proceedings against some executives of the Russian broadcaster RTaccused of trying to interfere in the November elections, without however indicating whether they intended to favor the Democrats or the Republicans.
According to the intelligence services’ analysis, he did know In a note yesterday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said that “Russia’s preferences have not changed since the last election,” which would suggest a Kremlin preference for Donald Trump, which Putin’s statements today (and in recent months) would seem to deny.
Even before Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race for re-election to the White House in favor of Kamala Harris, Putin had reiterated his preference for the current occupant of the Oval Office over the return of Donald Trump, who is instead accused by his detractors of wanting to bring Washington closer to the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the measures taken by Washington are part of a “long-prepared disinformation campaign (…) that became necessary as the final phase of the election cycle approaches.” Moscow has insured the Russian diplomat in an interview given today to the official press agency Ria Novostiis “evidently” preparing a response to these new sanctions, capable of “making everyone shudder”.
