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Have you seen news of Russian President Vladimir Putin's endorsement of Kamala Harris for President? It happened back on Thursday, September 5, 2024, at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia. The timing is not accidental. This was the same day, "the U.S. Justice Department said the Russian state-owned broadcaster RT is carrying out a covert campaign to influence the American public ahead of the election."
Putin's original preference was "Mr. [Joe] Biden." However, after "he was removed from the race," he asked his supporters to endorse Kamala Harris. So, Putin declared "Well, we will do so – we will support her.”
Why did Putin endorse Harris, besides Biden's recommendation? In his speech, he praised her, “She laughs so expressively and infectiously that it means that she is doing well." Then he added, "If Harris is doing well, then 'perhaps she will refrain' from imposing more sanctions on Russia."
What does that mean? Given Putin's history of past endorsements, he likely believes Harris would be easier to deal with (a pushover?) than Trump. Putin has built up a laundry list of resentments against Trump, who imposed more sanctions and tariffs on Russia than any other President. It's understandable that he would not want to see Trump back in the White House.
How did our lamestream media handle this to prevent damage to the Harris campaign? Three things occurred:
1.) The first & most common was to bury the story with a brief one-time report near the end of a newscast or in the back pages of a newspaper.
2.) Many media outlets simply chose not to report it at all.
3.) Some made a joke about it. That was the strategy of the Associated Press (AP). Understand, the AP sends their news' reports to thousands of member media outlets. They, in turn, reprint or rebroadcast what AP sends verbatim with credit in the byline.
Very few of these smaller, local media ever do any of their own background research or fact-checking of what these news' aggregators , such as AP, Reuters or United Press International (UPI) report.
Here's how the media sanitizes language, too. Did you notice that Putin said Biden "was removed from the race"? Most U.S. outlets changed Putin's '"removed" to "left."
When asked the next day, Friday, September 6 2024, if Putin was joking or serious in his endorsement of Harris, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, said, “When he is asked about international affairs, he comments on them. As for his tone, people abroad who are interested must try to interpret that."
John Kirby, National Security Communications Advisor, did not find humor or joking in Putin's endorsement. Kirby's comments show, "Mr. Putin should stop discussing our elections and refrain from favoritism. Only Americans should decide their next president. We urge Mr. Putin to cease both his commentary and interference in our election process.”
As for me, I now know what to call Harris. She is Comrade Kamala Harris.
Source: "Vladimir Putin trolls US presidential race with 'endorsement' of Kamal Harris," by Nathan Hodge, CNN World, updated 4:09 PM EDT, Thursday, September 5, 2024.9-15-2024 & 9-18-2024https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/05/europe/vladimir-putin-kamala-harris-endorsement-intl/index.htmlAccessed on September 15 and 18, 2024
Source: " Russia mocks US election allegations as Putin teasingly says he supports Harris," by Emma Burrows, The Associated Press, September 5, 2024, 5:24 pm EDT. https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin-united-states-kamala-harris-trump-721034cf80fed36d4ca22c2608c16911
Accessed September 20, 2024
Source:"US Election 2024: Donald Trump 'very offended' by Vladimir Putin's endorsement of Kamala Harris," by ET Online, The Economic Times, last updated September 10, 2024, 12:58 pm IST
https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/world-news/us-election-2024-donald-trump-very-offended-by-vladimir-putins-endorsement-of-kamala-harris/articleshow/113212953.cmsAccessed September 21, 2024
Source: "On Putin 'backing' Kamala Harris, Kremlin says people free to interpret," by Express Web Desk, The Indian Express, September 6, 2024 at 21:19 IST
https://indianexpress.com/article/world/putin-endorse-kamala-harris-trump-9553911/
Accessed September 21, 2024
