Donald Trump’s favorite claim when it comes to the four separate indictments he’s been hit with in the last five months is that the only—only!—reason he is being prosecuted is because Democrats don’t want him to win a second term in office. Never mind the fact that there is a metric fuckton of evidence against him—much of it on tape!—or that, according to the Fulton County district attorney’s office, he literally told two officials, “Just say that the election was corrupt, and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen.” No, according to Trump, this is merely political retribution.
Obviously, rational people who do not think Trump was anointed by God know that this is not true, and that the ex-president is being prosecuted by the federal government, the Manhattan district attorney’s office, and the Fulton County DA because he (allegedly) committed a ton of crimes.* But one guy willing to go along with the charade for his own corrupt purposes? Vladimir Putin.
Yes, speaking at an Eastern Economic Forum event on Tuesday, Trump’s favorite war criminal—who the former president recently “joked” he was going to shack up with after fleeing the country—Putin insisted that the cases against Trump constitute political interference. Putin also argued the US—which isn’t currently waging a war against a sovereign country—is on the decline. “As for the prosecution of Trump, for us what is happening in today’s conditions, in my opinion, is good because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others democracy,” Putin said. “Everything that is happening with Trump is the persecution of a political rival for political reasons. That’s what it is. And this is being done in front of the public of the United States and the whole world.”
It is, of course, to Putin’s benefit for the US political system to be in disarray, which was why Russia meddled in the last two presidential elections (and Trump let him get away with it). Responding to Putin’s Tuesday remarks, GOP presidential hopeful Chris Christie called the Russian president a “mass-murdering, KGB hitman” and clarified that “Trump is under indictment because of his conduct. He played with fire and is getting burned.” He added: “If you are on the same side as Putin, you might want to rethink your position…”
For his part, Trump is unlikely to “rethink” being on the same side as Putin, given that of all the dictators and strongmen he loves—and there are many!—Putin is clearly at the top the list.** In February, on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine—for which the casualties and injuries were approaching 500,000 troops as of last month—Trump once again bragged about having “a very good relationship” with Putin. (He has also defended taking Putin’s word over that of US intelligence agencies.) And on Wednesday, Trump referenced Putin’s remarks about him being “persecuted” to bolster his claim that he is being treated unfairly.
*All of which he has pleaded not guilty to.
**Though, to be fair, he’s literally called Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sisihis “favorite dictator” and said that he and Kim Jong Un “fell in love.” So, perhaps he’ll at some point deliver an official ranking.
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