Russian state media flatters Trump, but Kremlin cool on him and Harris

MOSCOW — 

Russian officials from President Vladimir Putin down accidental it makes nary quality to Moscow who wins the White House connected November 5.

Yet anyone watching Kremlin-guided authorities media sum of the U.S. election would reason Donald Trump is powerfully favored.

State TV's main Channel One quality programme this period showed video of billionaire Elon Musk and TV big Tucker Carlson denigrating Democratic campaigner Kamala Harris earlier zooming successful connected what it formed arsenic a bid of stumbling performances.

Harris' inclination to burst into fits of laughter, thing Putin himself spoke astir sarcastically past month, has featured prominently successful broadcasts and authorities TV has played compilations of her slightest eloquent statements during the campaign.

By contrast, the aforesaid Channel One study portrayed Trump and moving mate JD Vance arsenic sure-footed and imbued with communal consciousness connected everything from transgender authorities to immigration, but facing sinister forces arsenic evidenced by assassination plots.

The Kremlin says the prime of who becomes the adjacent U.S. president is simply a substance exclusively for the American radical to determine and that it volition enactment with whoever is elected.

It has denied steering coverage, though immoderate erstwhile authorities media employees person spoken publically astir play Kremlin meetings astatine which guidance connected antithetic issues is given.

The authorities media's evident penchant for Trump whitethorn beryllium nary surprise.

Trump has been acold little openly supportive of Ukraine successful its war against Russia than incumbent President Joe Biden oregon Harris, raising fears successful Kyiv that it could suffer its astir important state if helium wins.

Trump, who has repeatedly praised Putin implicit the years and boasted of having a bully moving relationship, past week blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for helping commencement the war.

This period helium declined to corroborate reports helium had spoken to Putin connected respective occasions since leaving bureau successful 2021 saying only: "If I did, it's a astute thing."

Harris by opposition has called Putin "a murderous dictator," vowed to proceed backing Ukraine, and said that absorption person Alexei Navalny's decease successful situation was "a further motion of Putin's brutality." The Kremlin has denied immoderate manus successful Navalny's demise.

State TV has often showcased impermanent speakers connected its premier clip geopolitical speech shows who explicit a penchant for Trump, adjacent if their reasons sometimes vary.

Andrei Sidorov, a elder world astatine Moscow State University, told a large authorities TV speech amusement successful October that Trump would beryllium amended for Russia due to the fact that helium would disturbance part that could trigger a long-held phantasy of anti-Western Russian hawks - the disintegration of the United States during infighting betwixt its constituent states.

"I americium for Trump. I was ever for Trump - he's a destroyer. If he's elected ... past civilian warfare volition truly beryllium connected the agenda," Sidorov said, forecasting a Democratic triumph would spot the aforesaid "crap" arsenic now, continuing.

"(But) Trump could truly pb to our geopolitical adversary collapsing without immoderate missiles being fired."

A 2017 U.S. quality study said Putin had directed a blase power run to denigrate Democratic campaigner Hillary Clinton and enactment Trump successful the 2016 contention for the White House. The Kremlin denied meddling and Trump denied immoderate collusion with Russia during that campaign.

Despite the 2 existent candidates' antithetic approaches to Moscow, immoderate Russian officials - who are navigating the worst play successful U.S.-Russia relations since the 1962 Cuban rocket situation - person expressed wariness of both.

Harris, they say, would mean a continuation of what Moscow sees arsenic Biden's proxy warfare with Russia "to the past Ukrainian."

Trump, who raised hopes successful Moscow of amended ties earlier helium took bureau successful 2017, is remembered for imposing sanctions erstwhile successful the White House contempt lukewarm words astir Putin. In Moscow's eyes, helium appeared boxed successful connected Russia argumentation by the wider U.S. governmental establishment.

"I person nary illusions. (When Trump was president) helium had respective conversations with President Vladimir Putin. He received maine astatine the White House a mates of times. He was friendly," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recalled successful September.

"But sanctions against the Russian Federation were imposed nether President Trump connected a regular basis. As a result, we concluded that we request to trust connected ourselves. We volition ne'er successful our past number connected 'a bully guy' getting into the White House."

One elder Russian root said determination were antithetic views astatine apical levels of the Kremlin astir Trump, but confirmed immoderate believed a Trump triumph mightiness not spell good for Moscow.

"Look what happened past clip helium became president. Everyone said beforehand that U.S.-Russia relations would benefit, but they ended up adjacent worse. Trump says a batch of things but doesn't ever bash what helium says," said the source, who declined to beryllium named fixed the matter's sensitivity.

The aforesaid root questioned whether Trump's purported reluctance to support financing and arming Ukraine and his speech of being capable to extremity the warfare swiftly would past lobbying efforts from almighty U.S. factions who reason that Ukraine's destiny is existential for the West and that Kyiv indispensable not lose.

A 2nd elder source, who besides spoke connected information of anonymity, said Moscow was not expecting overmuch from either candidate. Trump had been "pretty tough" connected Moscow erstwhile successful power, was worryingly impulsive and had pugnacious views connected Russia's state China, helium said.

The root added that helium did not expect to spot large alteration successful Moscow-Washington relations whoever was elected.

"Neither Trump nor Harris are going to alteration the narration with Russia fundamentally. There is not going to beryllium immoderate large caller friendship," said the source.

"The West views Russia and China arsenic atrocious and the West arsenic bully and it is hard to spot immoderate person changing a content that is present ingrained wrong the Washington elite."