Kremlin Spokesman Comments on Harris's Predictability Versus Trump's Unpredictability

September 2 :
Russian presidential contender Kamala Harris is seen by Russia as less unpredictable than Trump, the Republican, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Regardless, ties with Washington are not going to improve. While speaking with Pavel Zarubin—a TV journalist who has special access to the Kremlin—Peskov seemed to downplay Trump's claim that he could halt the conflict in Ukraine in only one day if elected president.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously stated that Moscow preferred Joe Biden over Trump, characterizing Biden as a seasoned "old school" politician, before Biden announced his retirement from the November election and threw his support for Harris. Zarubin joked with Peskov and asked, "Then who is our candidate now?" after Biden dropped out of the race.

"We have no candidate," Peskov responded, his voice dripping with laughter. The Democrats, meanwhile, are more predictable, as one would expect. Ms. Harris is only one of several Democrats who might be described in the same way as Biden, according to Putin. Despite maintaining that the election was a domestic issue for the United States, Putin and Peskov have expressed differing views on the matter at various points. For instance, in February, Putin seemed to be trying to foment discord by praising Biden for being predictable while simultaneously broaching the delicate subject of his mental fitness for office.

Russia does not care about the next U.S. president, he said in June, but it was obvious that the U.S. courts were being used in a political struggle against Trump. U.S. actions to "trample on our country’s interests" have gone too far, according to Peskov's interview published on September 1. "No prospects" existed at the time to put bilateral relations on a course towards recovery, plunging them to an all-time low.

A Kremlin spokeswoman denied that Trump's promised "magic wand" could instantly end the turmoil in Ukraine. According to him, it's "fantasy" to think that the incoming U.S. president would shift attitudes in Kyiv by announcing in their inaugural address that Washington was cutting off military supplies to Ukraine and encouraging peace talks.