Russian state television propaganda has targeted former President Donald Trump, Olga Scapeva, suggesting that the Russian government might think twice before launching any campaign to support him if he chooses to run in the 2024 presidential election.
Scapeva made these statements during a recent edition of her 60 minutes Political talk show, according to a clip with English subtitles posted on Twitter by Russian media analyst Julia Davis.
“Days ago, Trump promised to destroy the Russian Federation, to destroy Putin’s hegemony,” she said.
Another panellist, Russian political science professor Alexander Kamen, intervened by calling his report “great news” because Russia would know about Trump’s “geopolitical goals” if he returns to the White House in the future.
Skabieva replied: “We have to think about whether we should reinstate him again as president of the United States. We haven’t decided yet.”
It’s unclear what Trump’s comments were referred to by the Russian hosts, but since Trump’s 2016 election victory, Russian television figures have often pointed out that he has been inaugurated in the White House by Moscow.
Multiple US investigations have found that the Russian government mounted a major campaign to interfere in the 2016 election on his behalf, including by breaking into Democratic National Committee computers to steal emails between DNC employees and employees of then Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
