The news that President Joe Biden would not run for re-election caused a stir not only in America, but also in Russia, where pro-Kremlin propagandists are kicking up a fuss about what it would mean for their beloved Donald Trump.
Appearing on Monday’s broadcast of a state TV show 60 Minutes, State Duma member Oleg Matveychev complained that Biden’s move is a disaster for Trump’s election chances. “He is left without any trump cards!” Matveychev said. “Previously, he could easily attack Biden’s health, now he has nothing left to attack. More than that, attacking Biden at this point would be seen as inappropriate and rude.”
“Now they’re switching to [Vice President Kamala Harris] and are trying to attack her, but nothing new will stick to her,” Matveychev added. “Bringing up the fact she is not quite white will only activate her electorate.”
Russian state TV’s coverage of Harris—which is a carbon copy of what is playing on Fox News—was largely limited Monday to attempts at mocking her laughter.
Matveychev said that Biden’s departure from the race rendered the previous agenda obsolete. Discussing the age of the U.S. president or an assassination attempt against Trump is now yesterday’s news, he argued.
Definitely the second.
The war has been going long enough that Russia’s economy has retooled for wartime production. They are propping GDP up by spending oil revenues on war production and maintaining consumer confidence through their continuous propaganda, to pull that prop suddenly would likely result in a massive economic collapse.