U.S. lawmakers are preparing to unveil the “mother of all sanctions” against the Kremlin’s elite should Russia choose to invade Ukraine, and it’s not sitting well with Moscow's top mouthpieces. Faced with growing U.S. resistance, Russia’s government-funded state TV has become more brazen than ever in its calls to get former President Donald Trump back in the White House.
“The city on a hill is again being taken over by the Trumpists. Donald already declared that he will become the 47th president of America and will figure things out with Russia and Putin,” host Olga Skabeeva said on Monday’s segment of the Russian TV show 60 Minutes. “Donald, we're waiting for you and are ready to elect you again.”
In his bombastic tirade at the “Save America” rally in Conroe, Texas two days earlier, Trump claimed that Joe Biden’s support for Ukraine and his persistent attempts to deter further Russian aggression do nothing other than “create a very real risk of World War III.” The same idea was discussed by Russian experts, pundits and lawmakers on state television, where they opined that if Americans fear the prospect of a nuclear war, they should agree to look the other way while Russia deals with Ukraine.
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After broadcasting some of Trump's translated remarks, in which he bashed U.S. Democrats and boasted about his great relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Skabeeva reiterated some of his offensive commentary, claiming that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is “crazier than a bed bug.” State Duma deputy Mikhail Delyagin chimed in to participate in Trump’s trash-talking by claiming those remarks were “insulting to bed bugs.” Skabeeva added: “Nancy Pelosi is a bed bug. Could you say he's wrong? You can immediately see that he is our guy. Donald, please come back.”
Kremlin-funded state television has been quite brazen about Russian interference in U.S. elections in the past. In 2019, Skabeeva’s husband and co-host Evgeny Popov discussed the findings of the Mueller report, defiantly telling The Daily Beast: “Soon, we will help you elect Trump once again. Just like the last time. Get ready!”
Earlier this month, Russian state TV reporter Valentin Bogdanov, who is based in New York City, created a new program called “Goodbye America.” It focuses on what it describes as the decline and the impending downfall of the United States. The first two episodes predicted Trump will be re-elected in 2024. Bogdanov also noted Tucker Carlson’s contributions in convincing a number of Republicans that the United States should not intervene against Russian aggression on behalf of Ukraine.
In recent interviews, Carlson not only dismissed the idea of helping Ukraine, but made cynical jokes at the expense of the country’s bloody fight for its independence. He told The Spectator: “Here, I'm looking at tens of thousands of Russian citizens massed on the Ukrainian border, hoping to get in for a better life. And I'm seeing world leaders say, ‘No, you're not allowed to do that—Ukraine is for Ukrainians’! I mean, speaking of ethno-nationalism, why is it if we can import thousands of Haitians illegally, why is it such a lift with the Ukrainians to just let several thousand Russians in?”
Trump’s comments encouraging the abandonment of Ukraine were also praised and repeatedly broadcast on Russian state television. His lambasting of NATO appears to fill Kremlin propagandists with nostalgic memories of what might have been. “Trump was ready to disband NATO,” Vladimir Soloviev, the host of state TV show The Evening with Vladimir Soloviev, declared this weekend.
Covering Trump’s remarks at his recent Texas rally, state media outlet Vesti published a piece entitled “Trump discussed his friendship with Putin and said that Biden ruined everything.” Kremlin-controlled talking heads seem to be signaling that Russia sees Trump’s potential return as a solution for all of its problems, to the detriment of NATO and the West.
