Vladimir Putin’s propagandists have been tough on Joe Biden after last night’s disastrous TV election debate, labeling the US president “fragile” and saying he should be “at home looking after his grandchildren” rather than leading the free world.
Pro-Kremlin media and commentators mocked Washington, gleefully claiming that the real winner of the showdown was neither Biden nor Donald Trump, but Putin.
His supporters delighted in belittling Biden’s apparent implosion, which left him stumbling over his words and losing his train of thought, and so-called experts suggesting he left the leadership of the Western world in jeopardy amid the war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin itself also appeared to downplay the importance of the election debate: Putin’s spokesman said the dictator was too busy to wake up and watch the debate.
“I don’t think anyone imagines that the Russian president sets his alarm clock, wakes up in the morning and watches a debate in the United States,” said his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov. “After all, it is not an event that is on our agenda.”
US President Joe Biden speaks during a presidential debate with Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said the dictator was too busy to wake up and watch the debate.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump (L) looks at US President Joe Biden during the CNN presidential debate
Peskov went on to say: ‘We have many issues that are really important for our country and that are relevant to us. These are the problems facing our president.
‘The debates in the United States are by no means at the top of the agenda. But of course we have seen reports in the media about these debates, we will learn about them in more detail.
“This is an internal matter of the United States, so of course we will familiarize ourselves with all the statements that have been made.”
But, he said, there will be no attempt to “evaluate this debate” or draw “official conclusions,” insisting: “We have never interfered in US election campaigns.”
Putin rarely comments on U.S. elections and has previously vowed to “work with any American leader.”
But last month he criticised the US judicial and political systems following Trump’s felony conviction, saying they were being used by the former president’s enemies to damage his re-election chances.
“They (the US) are burning from within, their State, their political system,” he warned.
The current impression in Moscow is that Putin will be privately pleased with last night’s chaotic debate, and that this will mean he will be able to dictate the terms in the war in Ukraine, while the West appears apathetic.
Professor Alexey Chesnakov of the Higher School of Economics at the National Research University declared: ‘Who won today’s debate? Putin!’
Many Russians believe that Donald Trump would be more favorable to Putin both by supporting Moscow’s demands and by stopping the flow of Western munitions to kyiv.
Professor Alexey Chesnakov of the Higher School of Economics at the National Research University declared: “Who won today’s debate? Putin!”
Russian propaganda TV channels rejoiced in exploiting Biden’s weak performance.
“With his mouth half open, his eyes unblinking, a blank expression on his face – that’s how Joe Biden appeared before an audience of millions,” Valentin Bogdanov, head of the Russian state television’s New York office, told the Kremlin mouthpiece RT.
‘He added to this sad spectacle a hoarse voice, swallowed words and constant slips of the tongue.
‘CNN’s most loyal liberal anchors were helpless. The head of the White House did not even lose to Trump. To himself.’ There is now “a deep panic” in the Democratic Party, he said.
The pro-Kremlin outlet Pool No. 3 scoffed that Biden “was taken out in public for an hour and a half without aides, cheat sheets or a prompter, and everyone saw who he really was: an elderly, frail man with a weak memory and partial loss of thought, who, in a friendly way, should be taking care of his grandchildren at home and not aggressively imposing democracy on the whole world.”
Political scientist Alexander Gorbunov ridiculed the American political system, comparing it to the Russian dictatorship, which he says guarantees strong leadership.
“Simply put, the United States discovered that its king was completely naked. That’s why there’s so much fuss in the Washington swamp.”
He stated: “Putin, naturally, won in the debates.”
Political scientist Alexander Gorbunov ridiculed the American political system, comparing it to the Russian dictatorship, which, according to him, guarantees strong leadership.
‘Everyone understands that one (the contender) has already lost his presence in this world, and the second is present for pure fun (Trump).
‘In theory, both should have been dropped at the primary stage: for health reasons and a combination of scandals.
“But in practice, no one will say out loud, ‘Listen, these two have already sat in the Oval Office, let’s think about someone else?’
The third (option) is not even a hypothetical idea… How do you say in English: “If not Putin, then who”?
Vladimir Kornilov, an analyst for state news outlet Russia Today, noted that a veteran Democratic strategist said Biden now can’t beat Trump.
Vladimir Kornilov, an analyst for state news outlet Russia Today, noted that a veteran Democratic strategist said Biden now can’t beat Trump.
The Russian expert said: “I just want to ask this ‘experienced strategist’: was it not clear to you before the debate?”
Earlier, state broadcaster Channel One said: “For Donald Trump, the problem is that he is a convicted felon, and for Joe Biden, it is his age.”
“This may seem like a formality, but the chances of at least one or even both of them not being candidates are not zero.”
