MOSCOW – Russia commented on Wednesday that the recent turmoil surrounding the U.S. election, including an assassination attempt on Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race, reflects deep divisions within American society, suggesting it is on the brink of “falling into a nosedive.”
Former President Trump, the Republican candidate, was shot in the ear during a campaign rally on July 13, and Biden exited his reelection bid on Sunday, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s candidate. When asked directly by Reuters about her preference for the U.S. presidency, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova did not provide a clear preference.
“The United States is now in a situation where they… wish to get through the current year without falling into a nosedive,” Zakharova said. Zakharova pointed to evidence of “deep divisions in American society” and “civil conflict” but noted that the United States still views Russia as an existential enemy. She advised viewing the protagonists of “American electoral theatre” without illusions.
As of Wednesday morning, President Vladimir Putin had not publicly commented on Biden’s withdrawal from the race. Putin has previously suggested that, for Russia, Biden might be preferable to Trump.
U.S. intelligence, however, has indicated that Russia would prefer a Trump victory. Previous U.S. intelligence assessments have found that Moscow attempted influence campaigns to help Trump win in 2016 against Hillary Clinton and in 2020 against Biden.
Russia has consistently denied meddling in the elections, although Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, before his death last year, claimed to have interfered in the 2016 election. Zakharova stated: “Blaming Russia for its own troubles, miscalculations, problems, mistakes, and shortcomings, it seems to me, is a manifestation of the disease of American democracy.”
She added, “We do not interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states, much less exert influence, and do not model or exert pressure on electoral processes. The upcoming elections in the United States are no exception; we have never interfered in them previously.”