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Shortly before last month’s presidential debate, NBC News reported on a network of pro-Kremlin social media accounts that were “attempting to spread false narratives” to help Donald Trump. The Wall Street Journal added soon after that Vladimir Putin’s government has launched a “whole of government” effort to influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential election and return the Republican to power.
As recently as last weekend, as my MSNBC colleague Ja’han Jones noted, the Kremlin rushed to echo far-right talking points in the wake of Saturday’s assassination attempt, suggesting that Democrats bore responsibility for the gunman.
And then the Republican National Convention got underway, at which point the public was reminded why Russia is so eager to help the party win.
On the opening night of the convention, for example, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene delivered remarks condemning Democrats for a bipartisan bill intended to “secure Ukraine’s borders.” Also on Monday night, tech investor David Sacks delivered remarks and insisted that Biden “provoked — yes, provoked — the Russians to invade Ukraine with talk of NATO expansion.”
Trump then tapped Sen. JD Vance of Ohio — one of Congress’ fiercest opponents of U.S. security aid to Ukraine — for the party’s ticket, which was a move that drew praise from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
As the convention neared its end, attendees heard from far-right media personality Tucker Carlson, who also took the opportunity to push a message that was likely well received in Moscow. As NBC News reported:
Carlson railed in his convention speech against the U.S. providing aid to Ukraine, a viewpoint seemingly shared by Vance and one to which Trump appears to be receptive. Carlson said it was “insulting” that funds are going toward supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion when other problems persist at home.
“We know where the drugs are coming from. We know the supply routes,” Carlson declared from the stage. “You don’t see our commander in chief suggesting that we use our military to protect our country or the lives of its citizens? No, that’s for Ukraine. And it’s too much. Actually, it’s too insulting. It’s too insulting. It’s a middle finger in the face of every American. It’s a very clear statement which is unmistakable, and that is ‘we don’t care about you.’”
Soon after, Trump, a benefactor of Russia’s earlier electoral assistance, accepted his party’s presidential nomination.
It stands to reason that Putin was pleased with how things went in Milwaukee this week.