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To everyone’s surprise, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his support for Democratic White House candidate Kamala Harris in the November election. A surprising announcement considering the Russian interference at work in 2016 to bring Donald Trump to power. But for political scientist Vera Grantseva, this announcement is a new manipulation by the Kremlin, designed to boost the Republican candidate in the polls. Explanations.
“US President Joe Biden has recommended his voters to support Ms. Harris, so we will support her too,” Vladimir Putin said at an economic forum in Vladivostok, claiming that Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump had imposed numerous “restrictions and sanctions” on Russia. A surprising little phrase, which political scientist and Russia specialist Vera Grantseva invites us to take with a pinch of salt.
La Dépêche du Midi: This position seems surprising, how do you explain this statement by Vladimir Putin?
Vera Grantseva : First of all, it must be remembered that communication is seen as a political tool for Putin. In the West, this sentence would be a position that would imply a coherence thereafter, a continuity in the speeches, not in Russia. We must not forget that Putin defines himself as a communication specialist, which is quite revealing! He is still a KGB agent, aware that communication is the basis of manipulation and deception.
Photo VG – Natalia DUPLINSKAYA
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And who is he trying to manipulate by announcing that he prefers Kamala Harris to Donald Trump, whom he has supported in the past?
In my opinion, this should not be taken literally. The Democratic candidate is 100% for Ukraine, for almost infinite support for its people until victory. In addition, she is for Ukraine’s accession to NATO. Why support your enemy? I think Putin obviously wanted to say something else, that he wanted to distance himself from Trump at all costs because he sees that he is not leading in the polls.
Does this mean he’s trying to help Donald Trump?
That’s it, he’s trying to help him by distancing himself, even if it’s clumsy and may seem incoherent. Besides, he talks about the sanctions imposed on Russia by Trump and hopes that Harris won’t do the same, which doesn’t make sense. Putin sees that his strategy is in danger because Trump’s chances are not as great as the Kremlin might hope.
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So the Kremlin is still hoping for Donald Trump’s re-election?
Yes, the choice is quite obvious, but they cannot say it. Many Russian observers said a year ago that it was necessary to wait for Trump’s victory so that “the Ukrainian problem” would be resolved.
Russia acted in the shadows to get Donald Trump elected in 2016, was it disappointed by his mandate?
No, not really, they met in 2018 in Finland, it was something important for Putin because he was already very isolated at the time because of the war in Donbass. He knew that he could have certain tools to put pressure on Trump. Some say here that he has certain compromising data on him, on his visits to Russian hotels… On the balance sheet of Trump’s mandate, it is true that he imposed fewer sanctions, and that he did not do too harsh things against Putin. But we can still observe a gap between his speech and the actions taken on behalf of the United States. The first lethal weapons were delivered to Ukraine… by the United States.
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Putin feels he has more power over Trump than Kamala Harris?
His method is “kompromat”, he uses compromising data to establish his power over his political enemies in Russia. He could have things on Trump, so we can imagine that it is a lever of pressure.
Are we already seeing attempts at Russian destabilization for the US election in November?
There is not much data on this, but the United States is already accusing Russia of interference. It should be noted that Russia has lost sources in the United States (Russia Today or some agents), but it is constantly adapting, buying bloggers and small media outlets on the ground. They cannot afford not to interfere.
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