Putin jokingly says he supports Kamala Harris in US elections

Russian commentators mocked Thursday allegations that Moscow is interfering Once again, during the US presidential election, President Vladimir Putin appeared to reinforce the teasing tone by ironically claiming that he supported Vice President Kamala Harris.

The U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday that Russian state broadcaster RT was conducting a covert campaign to influence American public opinion ahead of the election. Two employees of the state broadcaster were indicted and 10 individuals and two entities were sanctioned. Websites run by the Kremlin were seized.

The Justice Department has not identified the candidate targeted by the propaganda campaign. But internal policy memos from participants in the operation, released by the Justice Department, clearly indicate that former President Donald Trump was the intended beneficiary, although the candidates’ names have been redacted.

The Kremlin has dismissed previous accusations of interference in the US election, starting in 2016, as nonsense. A foreign ministry spokesman vowed to retaliate against US media in Russia.

Margarita Simonyan, head of the state broadcaster RT, which has been sanctioned by the United States over the latest allegations, shared a message on social media on Thursday in which the outlet responded by saying: “They have been calling since 2016 and want all their tired clichés back.”

The Treasury Department described Simonyan as a “central figure in the Russian government’s malign influence efforts.”

Putin, who was in the Russian Far East port of Vladivostok for an economic forum, did not respond to the latest U.S. allegations but did comment on the election, in which Harris is the Democratic Party’s nominee after President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid.

“We had the current president, Mr. Biden, as our favorite, but he was eliminated from the race. He recommended to all his supporters to support Ms. Harris, so we will do it too,” Putin said with a wry smile and an arched eyebrow.

Harris, he said, has an “expressive and infectious laugh,” which shows “she’s doing well.”

If Harris is doing well, “maybe she will refrain” from imposing new sanctions on Russia, Putin said. Some members of the audience were photographed laughing at his remarks.

Putin allowed influence operations to help Trump in 2020 electionwhile his 2016 campaign benefited from Russian intelligence hacking and a covert social media campaign, according to U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials.

Before his victory in 2016, Putin had praised Trump as “exceptional” and “talented.”

Earlier this year, Putin suggested that Biden’s re-election would be better for Russia because he is “more experienced” and “predictable.”

U.S. intelligence officials maintain that Moscow still favors Trump, who has praised Putin and suggested cutting aid to Ukraine.

Although RT’s Simonyan has shared posts denigrating the US allegations, she appeared on a Russian talk show earlier this year and explained how RT was involved in “information wars,” spreading pro-Kremlin narratives in the US.

“We create many sources of information that are not related to us,” Simonyan said, suggesting to the host that she should not publicly discuss RT’s secret work.

“While the CIA is trying to figure out that they’re connected to us, they already have a huge audience. Sometimes they find them and shut them down. … While they’re shutting them down, we’ve already created new ones,” she said.

RT and the CIA are “chasing each other” in a game of cat and mouse, she said.

“It’s really funny,” Simonyan added with a laugh.

In Vladivostok, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said authorities would take “retaliatory measures” against American media in Russia in response to the U.S. actions.

She said the Justice Department’s actions contradicted U.S. obligations to ensure “free access to information and media pluralism.”

Meanwhile, Russia continues an increasingly harsh crackdown on independent journalists, activists and ordinary citizens, stifling freedom of expression inside the country.