The US presidential candidate has said that he doesn’t know why Putin had “endorsed” his rival
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has expressed his offense at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s public support for his election rival, US Vice President Kamala Harris.
When asked during an international economic forum in Vladivostok on Thursday about his preference in the US election, Putin said he would follow Biden’s endorsement of Harris and “will support her as well.”
Putin also noted that “Trump imposed more sanctions on Russia than any president who came before him,” suggesting that Harris “would maybe refrain from such actions.”
Speaking at a campaign rally in the city of Mosinee, Wisconsin on Saturday, Trump criticized the White House for what he described as a false claim of Russian meddling in the election.
“Oh no, it’s Russia, Russia, Russia all over again,” Trump exclaimed, asserting that the conflict in Ukraine would have been prevented had he been president at the time.
“I knew Putin. I knew him well. And you know, he endorsed – I don’t know if you saw the other day – he endorsed Kamala,” Trump continued. “I was very offended by that. I wonder why he endorsed Kamala.” He characterized Putin as “a chess player” and questioned whether he had spoken about Harris “with a smile.”
Certain American news outlets, including CNN, suggested that the Russian leader was “simply trolling” Harris. Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, declined to clarify the president’s intention, stating that US domestic politics was not a priority for the Kremlin.
Harris herself has not commented on the matter, while the White House stated that Putin “shouldn’t be favoring” any candidate.
During his reelection campaign, Trump repeatedly asserted that he would promptly arrange new peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev and resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict “in 24 hours.” The Kremlin, however, has expressed skepticism, with Peskov recently stating that Trump had “no magic wand” and that the US should prioritize ceasing weapons shipments to Ukraine.