Russian state media mock the indictment against Donald Trump on live TV

The indictment of Donald Trump has sparked a wave of ridicule around the world – even among his biggest fans in Russia. The mouthpieces of Moscow’s state media seemed to have little sympathy for the former US president, who is widely seen as a disappointment at not having fulfilled everything Moscow expected.

At the same time, some Russian propagandists still support Trump, emboldened by recent statements that he has been willing in the past to allow Russia to take over certain parts of Ukraine and intends in the future to end military aid to the country, which is in need of defense before Putin’s war of aggression .

During the Friday broadcast of 60 minutes, an AI-generated image of Trump in court Donning an orange outfit was broadcast while panelists excitedly discussed the spectacle his arrest would cause. On Sunday hosts Vladimir Solovyov and the panelists from Sunday evening with Vladimir Solovyov wondered aloud if the former US president would be elected in 2024 and joked that Trump was sitting in the Oval Office in orange overalls and handcuffs. Or maybe, Solovyov said, he would end up seeking asylum in Russia.

“Should we give Donald Trump a chance to escape unfair political persecution in Russia?” Solovyov asked. He then joked that “Donald Fredovych” could get an apartment in Rostov-on-Don, formerly occupied by disgraced former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych. Andrey Sidorov, deputy dean for world politics at Moscow State University, bitterly observed: “First you have to earn the place in Rostov-on-Don … I’m quite disappointed in Donald. He let me down on January 6, 2021.” Kremlin talking heads have long lamented Trump’s failure to spark a civil war in the United States.

Still, some of Putin’s propagandists believe the impeachment will only increase Trump’s chances in the 2024 presidential election. Solovyov liked the idea of ​​Tucker Carlson portraying poor Trump as a victim who was first given “a stolen election” and later targeted by the Biden administration to influence his future candidacy. “I can write the topics of conversation [for Tucker]’ Solovyov offered.

Sidorov and Solovyov agreed that Ron DeSantis — known as “No. 2” — may have secured a spot as a potential vice president. Sidorov said that by portraying himself as a victim of unjust persecution, Trump is an attacker for the next presidential election “unless the United States falls apart first.” RT boss Margarita Simonyan chimed in: “That would be so great!”, to which Sidorov replied: “Margarita, I’ve been counting on this for a long time, but I also understand that the United States is a strong nation – at the moment.” Days earlier Sidorov said on Solovyov’s show that he had high hopes Trump as the “destroyer of America”.

“Deep Civilization Gap”

Sergey Mardan, the host of Solovyov Live, described the situation in the USA as a slowly smoldering civil war. Dmitry Mikheyev, who previously served as a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute but later returned to Russia, told the host that Trump is a beacon of conservative values ​​persecuted for his beliefs against a backdrop of Trump behind bars and scantily clad Stormy Daniels can be seen. Mikheyev described a “deep civilizational divide” brewing in America based on race, religion and politics – with Trump’s arrest aggravating the situation. “This is a serious conflict that is almost religious in nature. And we are definitely looking forward to it! If all is bad in America,” said Mardan, “it will hit us, but the enemy must be destroyed!”

On Tuesday’s show 60 minutesmultiple AI-generated images of Trump in prison flashed up on the jumbotron, followed by a series of clips out Fox News that lamented the alleged injustice of Trump’s indictment. Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian Defense Committee, suggested that “poor, poor Trump” may have been somehow tricked by the Democrats or tricked into his dalliance with Daniels.

Sergei Markov, a former adviser to Putin, said the oversized, fuchsia tie he wore was worn in solidarity with “our Trump,” and described him as “the most popular political leader in America.”

“Trump could soon be in orange jumpsuits and handcuffed,” said co-host Olga Skabeeva, apparently unfazed by Trump’s legal woes. “We’ll get lots of popcorn and wait!”