Putin and other Russians respond to Biden calling Putin “a
killer on national TV” that story here from
the Daily Beast with this headline:
“Russia Threatens Vax Sabotage,
Blackmail, and Spy Boost After Biden Calls Putin a ‘Killer’…”
Key parts of this story
follow:
The Kremlin was unquestionably furious about President Joe
Biden’s interview with ABC News and George Stephanopoulos.
In contrast to former President Donald Trump’s outright
refusal to condemn the Russian leader for any of his actions, when Biden was asked
by Stephanopoulos whether he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin was a
“Killer” – Biden succinctly replied: “Mmm-hmm, I do.”
The next day, Putin appeared rattled and irritated as he
personally addressed Biden’s
remarks during a video call with residents of Crimea marking the anniversary of
its annexation from Ukraine by Russia in 2014. Putin angrily glaring into the
lens of the camera, forced a smile and said of Biden: “I wish him good health.”
That loaded response could be read as an implied threat, but
it most likely refers to ongoing efforts by Kremlin-controlled state media to
portray the American president as a hapless elder suffering from dementia.
Putin didn’t even bother denying Biden’s “killer” accusation
during that appearance on Russian state TV. Instead, he retorted with a
commentary that roughly translates to: “It takes one to know one.”
Fact: There is little doubt that Putin bears responsibility
for bloodshed abroad, like in Ukraine, Georgia, and Syria, and against his own
citizens living on foreign soil.
Putin has been accused of ordering the attempted
assassination of his most vocal and effective domestic rival, Alexei Navalny,
by the military-grade nerve agent known as “Novichok” in 2020.
Putin’s government has also been linked to the 2018
poisoning of the former
Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England in 2018, and the
shooting of a former commander of Chechen separatists in Berlin in 2019.
Notably, in 2006, Putin signed
a law legalizing targeted killings of “extremists” abroad.
Since then, the U.S. has imposed
additional sanctions against Russia for using chemical weapons against
dissidents.
To achieve their desired impression of Biden and the U.S.,
Russian state media often airs clips of Fox News with Tucker Carlson assailing
the mental capabilities of Biden. The Republican campaign to portray President
Biden as mentally unfit started well before he was elected, and on that front —
and on many others — Russian propaganda narratives have now seamlessly blended
with those of Fox News who harps on that widely.
Other Key Russian
Comments:
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “There
hasn't been anything like this in history” as he described Biden’s statement as
“very bad.”
Russia recalled its U.S. ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, on
the very day of Biden’s statement “for consultations about relations with the
United States.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said
that relations between Moscow and Washington: “Have been going through hard
times (blaming the U.S. for bringing them) to a dead end.”
Most of Russian lawmakers, pundits and state media experts
didn’t even attempt to argue against Biden’s perception of President Putin as a
“killer.” They merely recoiled at the unthinkable idea of openly criticizing
Putin, which is not only a taboo in the Motherland, but dangerous.
Politician Sergey Stankevich, appearing on The Evening
with Vladimir Soloviev argued: “You can think whatever you want, you just don’t
say it out loud.”
Soloviev, the host of the show, grimly surmised the
meaning of the U.S. President’s statements saying: “This is a declaration of
the New Cold War. Of course, we will respond — and we will respond very
harshly.”
“He let it slip, because he is an elderly person. Perhaps he
doesn’t realize that the American president shouldn’t be saying these kinds of
things out loud,” suggested Russian
lawmaker Oleg Morozov.
Karen Shakhnazarov, a prominent fixture of Russian state TV
news talk shows, argued against propaganda tropes about Biden’s allegedly
ailing mental health. “He is an experienced old wolf, he understands exactly
what he’s saying … there should be a harsh response.”
Konstantin Zatulin, member of Russia’s lower house of parliament asserted: “This is a scandalous statement. We shouldn’t stand for it. At the very minimum, Biden should be ostracized from all relations.”
My 2 cents: A lot of
propaganda is now on full display by Putin and his minions. All this typical and
very clever of how they operate.
Noteworthy, too, is the part wherein Russian admits to using Fox News as an avenue for their disinformation campaigns by using the likes of Carlson Tucker, et al via Fox News.
I’m not sure but apparently Fox helps in the regard maybe wittingly or
not, but I suspect they know exactly how that plays on Russian TV and in their
media and even elsewhere (and now Russia has confirmed that link, too) – and in
Fox’s view, that benefits Fox. Yipee.
Thanks for stopping by.
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