Yes, the Putin regime is trolling you

Anyone who takes at face value Putin's claims that he would prefer Harris to Trump as US President really needs to have their head examined. It's safe to say that Harris is going to pursue a national security agenda very similar to out-going President Biden, and neither of them plan on giving Putin's regime a free pass. Putin lies all the time, and he is not going to suddenly change his stripes, especially at his age. If you have taken even just one introductory psychology class you will probably remember that past behavior predicts future behavior. Russia has a history of interfering in US elections in order to put the thumb on the scale for Trump. Why change now? The recent news about a Russian operation to covertly fund right-wing influencers to produce viral pro-Trump video content is yet the most recent example of Kremlin-based election interference efforts. Disinformation is a Russian specialty. Make no mistake: Putin arguably needs Trump to be reinstalled in the White House in order to get the war against Ukraine ended in terms favorable to Russia. We understand that Trump's negotiating style is a joke. We know how Trump "negotiated" an ending to the US presence in Afghanistan - and that was to negotiate with the Taliban without any input from the actual elected Afghan leaders at the time (2020). And Trump thought giving away that country to the Taliban was a great deal. It was for some Taliban clerics and terrorist leaders. Anyone else in Afghanistan? They ultimately got to suffer. Putin's terms are clear: take as much Ukrainian territory as possible, install a pro-Kremlin dictatorship in Kyiv, and sabotage the NATO alliance. And Trump being Trump will submit. Why would Putin want anyone but Trump in the White House?

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