Putin ally sours on prospect of a Trump second term

Vladimir Solovyov, a prominent Kremlin propagandist and staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, indicated during a recent broadcast that he does not feel former President Donald Trump winning the 2024 election would benefit Russia.

Kremlin-controlled media outlets generally cover Trump more favorably than President Joe Biden, who has been one of Kyiv’s biggest supporters during the war launched by Putin. Trump has also been noted to have had a closer relationship with Putin than Biden does, and he courted controversy in 2022 by calling the Russian leader a “genius” during the early stages of the Ukraine war.

Solovyov, the host of political programs on Russian state television and radio, has been among the Russian broadcasters who have spoken positively of Trump. Among the public statements Solovyov has made about the former president was stating last year that “there are obviously shared values and common understanding” between Trump and Putin.

The propagandist has also advocated for Trump’s reelection in the past, but he sounded more doubtful during a recent program about Russia seeing gains from a second term for the Republican.

Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, on Thursday posted a translated clip on X, formerly Twitter, of Solovyov discussing what he thinks Trump winning in 2024 would mean for Russia.

“The United States is our enemy. And the last name of the president is not important, it’s a nuance,” Solovyov said.

“Let me remind you that after Trump came to power, he imposed even heavier sanctions than those who came before him. There are no fans of Russia and Putin there [in the United States],” he added, per Gerashchenko’s translation. “They perceive us as enemies. Right or wrong, this is no longer a geopolitical question. And we are not talking about the American people, but about the American political establishment.”

Solovyov then brought up Russia’s war in Ukraine, which Kremlin officials have at times claimed is an ideological war against the West.

“We are confronting the demons. That is why we are winning,” he said.

The U.S. State Department has detailed Solovyov’s efforts to spread disinformation from the Kremlin. In a list identifying well-known figures involved in Russian propaganda published on its website in 2022, the State Department described Solovyov as perhaps “the most energetic Kremlin propagandist around today.”

Throughout the course of the war, Solovyov has garnered international attention for making controversial statements, such as advocating multiple times for Moscow to make use of its nuclear capabilities against the countries that back Ukraine.

He has also said the Kremlin should unleash a nuclear strike on any country that would attempt to detain Putin over the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in March over alleged war crimes.