Russian TV mocks Donald Trump for stormy Daniels grief

Donald Trump was mocked by guests and the host on Russian state television on Monday night as they discussed speculation that the former president should be arrested for allegedly arranging hush money to be paid to Stormy Daniels, a former porn actress who claimed she was have an affair with the business tycoon.

Prosecutors are investigating whether Trump violated campaign finance laws by paying Daniels $130,000 from his former fixer Michael Cohen towards the end of the 2016 presidential campaign.

He has strongly denied having any sexual relations with Daniels or violating election finance laws by posting “I did NOTHING wrong” on his Truth Social website.

On Monday evening, the case was discussed in a program nicknamed “Putin’s Voice” hosted by Vladimir Solovyov on the state-controlled Russia-1 channel. The exchange was highlighted and translated by the Russian Media Monitor, which tracks Russia’s state media.

Describing Trump as “the only person in America who hasn’t gone insane,” Solovyov then joked that his supportive stance earned him the rank of “major” within Russian intelligence.

When another guest suggested that this rank was low for a former president, Solovyov replied, “Yes, I know he was president. Maxim Maximovich Isayev [a famous fictional Soviet spy] was Colonel. You want Trump to rank high? A major at most.”

A 2020 Senate report confirmed US intelligence conclusions that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to try to help Trump get into the White House. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Russia, but Russian state media often joke that he is a Russian agent.

Solovyov later dismissed the suggestion that Russia could “collaborate” with Trump and insisted he would “follow the orders of his superiors,” an apparently joking reference to claims that Moscow has influence over the former president.

Russian commentator Dmitry Drobnitsky spoke to Solovyov about rumors of Trump’s arrest, saying: “Apart from that hegemon [the U.S.] It is dangerous as an international player, but it is also going through a difficult process and witnessing the collapse of the government.

“This leads to chaotic and dangerous actions, both internationally and internally. The arrest of Donald Trump is a banana republic-level event if they arrest him tomorrow. Nothing like this has ever happened.”

news week has reached out to Trump for comment through his official website.

On March 18, Trump predicted he would be arrested the following Tuesday and called on his supporters to “protest.” Critics accused the former president of fomenting unrest and compared the situation to before hundreds of Trump supporters stormed Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

In recent weeks, both Trump and Ron DeSantis, his main potential Republican rival, have criticized President Joe Biden’s Ukraine policy, with the Florida governor saying the country is not an important US national security interest. This has raised hopes in Russia that a Republican victory in 2024 could see US support for Ukraine curtailed or even ended while Moscow’s forces fight on the battlefield.