Putin Faced With 2 ‘Unappealing’ Candidates

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin appears uncomfortable with the rival candidates ahead of the November 5, 2024 US presidential election with regards to the interest of Russia.

In a recent interview, the Russian leader expressed less optimism about the prospect of “unappealing” Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican counterpart, former President Donald Trump.

Asked whether he preferred Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, Putin caught listeners up short with his teasing reply that also included a gentle jab at President Joe Biden.

“Our ‘favorite,’ if you can call it that, was the current president, Mr. Biden,” he told the audience at an economic forum in the Far East port of Vladivostok in September.

“But he was removed from the race, and he recommended all his supporters to support Ms Harris. Well, we will do so – we will support her,” he said sardonically, citing her “expressive and infectious laugh” that shows “she’s doing well.”

The election Tuesday next week carries significant stakes for the Kremlin, and despite Putin’s non-committal and somewhat teasing answer, it appeared to encapsulate Russia’s view as a choice between two unappealing possibilities.

Analysts said neither offers much promise of improving relations that have hit their lowest point since the Cold War.

Recall that relations between the US and Russia increasingly deteriorated when Russia invaded Ukraine amid the bloody war raging with the US and its NATO allies massively supporting Ukraine with weapons and money to repel the Russian attacks.

Harris has taken a hard line against Russia, while Trump is known for his admiration of Putin. Still, at the September gathering, Putin complained that when Trump was in office, there were “so many restrictions and sanctions against Russia like no other president has ever introduced before him.”

Timothy Colton of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies said that the Kremlin leadership is “by and large convinced nothing good is going to come in the election from Russia’s point of view.”

But he added that on the whole, Trump “is probably their preference; he’s more of a known quantity.”

Harris is seen as likely to continue the Biden administration’s massive military and economic support for Ukraine as Russia’s invasion stretches toward a third year.

Trump has bragged that his rapport with Putin and respect from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are so strong that he could negotiate an end to the war “in 24 hours.” He declines to detail his strategy, but recent remarks criticising sanctions in general suggest he could lift those against Russia as an inducement to help settle the conflict.