If the words of a Kremlin spokesman can be taken at face value, Russia and its president Vladimir Putin would probably prefer that Kamala Harris win the 2024 presidential race this November.
During an interview with a favored Russian journalist named Pavel Zarubin, spokesman Dmity Peskov said that Harris is more “predictable” than Trump. To Americans, this remains to be seen, as the vice president and now installed nominee for the Democrat Party still does not have a platform or policy paper on her candidacy website even though the elections are just over two months away. The site, does, however, have a lengthy biography of the candidate with plenty of flattering photographs.
During the Russian TV interview, Peskov also brushed off Donald Trump’s bragging that if he, Trump, were re-elected that he could end the Russia-Ukraine was in one day.
Some political observers have long speculated that the Russians would prefer another Democrat administration since they’ve become used to a pliable and scattered president in the form of Joe Biden. Biden, who dropped out of the race unexpectedly in July and endorsed Vice President Harris, is nominally still in office, though he has not been seen anywhere except lying on his back on a Delaware beach for weeks.
Journalist Zarubin asked the Kremlin’s Peskov, “who is our candidate now,” after Biden dropped out. Peskov replied that Russia does not have a candidate, but the Democrats are “more predictable.” He cited Putin’s earlier remarks about this when Putin was referring to Biden, and said that line of thought extends “almost all Democrats” and to Kamala Harris, too.
Russia plays the diplomatic language game when asked about their view of American presidential politics. Both Putin and Peskov have said the U.S. elections are an affair for the Americans, but they’ve also implied that they’d rather deal with a Democrat than a Republican administration. Many American political observers believe this is because Russia correctly detects weakness in Biden and Harris.
But it’s not always easy to know what Putin’s aim is when he makes a statement. In June he claimed that he did not care who won the U.S. presidency, and also remarked that he thought the Democrats were using lawfare and illegal maneuvering to sideline Donald Trump.
