15-2-2024 (MOSCOW) In a televised interview on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed his preference for Joe Biden over Donald Trump but expressed willingness to work with any US president. When asked by interviewer Pavel Zarubin who would be “better for us” between Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, Putin responded without hesitation, stating, “Biden. He is a more experienced, predictable person, a politician of the old school.”
Although Putin’s remarks mark the first time he has publicly commented on the 2024 US presidential election, they are likely to be perceived as mischief-making rather than taken at face value. Given the current high political uncertainty in the United States and the strained relations between the two countries, Putin’s comments should be understood in that context.
Biden has been at the forefront of the Western response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which included expanding the NATO alliance, imposing multiple rounds of sanctions on Moscow, and providing significant aid and weaponry to Kyiv. Critics of Trump believe that his reluctance to criticize Putin during his first term and his recent comments, including suggesting that Russia should attack NATO members that fail to meet defense spending targets, would have given the Russian leader an easier time.
While Putin expressed his opinions on the two candidates and even discussed the sensitive issue of Biden’s mental fitness, he acknowledged that interfering in the campaign would be inappropriate. He recalled meeting Biden in Switzerland several years ago and refuted claims of the US leader’s alleged incapability, mentioning an incident when Biden accidentally hit his head while exiting a helicopter and commenting, “Well, which of us hasn’t banged his head somewhere?”
Regarding Trump, Putin noted that he has been referred to as a “non-systemic politician” with his own perspective on how the United States should approach its relations with allies.
Putin, who has held positions of power as president or prime minister since 1999, is currently 71 years old, making him a decade younger than Biden and six years younger than Trump. He is expected to secure another six-year term in the upcoming election next month, which disqualified two candidates who opposed the war in Ukraine due to invalid documentation.
In 2020, a report by the US Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that Russia had attempted to influence the 2016 US presidential election in favor of Trump, who defeated Hillary Clinton.
