The US leader’s “crazy SOB” comment only proves his point, the Russian president has said
FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin © Sputnik / Sergei Bobylev
US President Joe Biden’s recent insulting remarks are proof that it would be better for Russia if he stayed in office, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
Speaking at a fundraiser in California on Wednesday, Biden had called Putin a “crazy son of a b*tch.” Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin asked the Russian president to comment on this.
“When you asked me our preference for the next US president, I said we would work with any, but for us, for Russia, Biden was better,” Putin replied. “Judging by what he said, I was absolutely right.”
“That’s the appropriate reaction to what I said,” Putin continued. “It’s not like he could say ‘Good job, Volodya, thank you for the helping hand’. We understand what is going on there, in terms of internal politics.”
Biden’s insulting comments “mean I was right,” Putin said. In terms of who Moscow would like to see in the White House, he added, “I can say it again: Biden.”
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In an interview with Zarubin last week, Putin described Biden as “a more experienced and predictable person…a politician of the old sort” and waved off claims of the US president’s much-discussed apparent dementia.
Putin is visiting Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan. Zarubin caught up with him after the Russian president took a Tu-160M strategic bomber for a spin.
Earlier in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned Biden’s comments as “shameful” and said he had brought “great disgrace” to the US.
Ahead of the 2016 US presidential election, Putin had complimented Republican candidate Donald Trump, who had campaigned on “getting along” with Russia. After Trump defeated their candidate Hillary Clinton, the Democrats invented a conspiracy theory about “Russian meddling” in the election and accused Trump of “Kremlin ties,” using both to sabotage Trump’s presidency.
The Russian president recently commented on the 2020 US election – which Biden officially won with the most votes ever – by describing it as questionable in terms of legitimacy.
The Biden White House has already denounced Putin’s “endorsement” of their commander-in-chief, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby insisting that Russia “should just stay out of our elections.”