Russian State Media Roots for Violence as America Counts Its Votes
With tens of thousands of votes yet to be counted in the contentious U.S. presidential race, President Trump falsely asserted election fraud and prematurely declared himself to be the winner Tuesday night—even though the final tally may take days to resolve, and even as Democratic candidate Joe Biden appeared to be surging on Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, the American election turmoil brought much joy to Moscow, with Russia seeing clear gains in its ongoing fight against democracy.
State Duma deputy Vyacheslav Nikonov, the grandson of the notorious Vyacheslav Molotov, predicted to the state media outlet Vesti that, regardless of the final outcome, half of American society will see the result as illegitimate. Nikonov falsely claimed that both presidential candidates claimed to have won, although the campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden made no such assertion as the votes are still being counted.
“This outcome of the elections is the worst scenario for America,” Nikonov concluded. He mockingly urged the Russians to buy lots of popcorn, due to the “uncompromising divide in the well-armed American society.” Russian state television started to announce upcoming TV movies by describing them as “the greatest show on earth, not counting U.S. elections.” Appearing on the Russian state media TV show 60 Minutes, Alexei Naumov from the Russian International Affairs Council said about the American presidential elections: “The greatest political thriller of the year is upon us. Watch and enjoy. Nothing like this will ever happen again.”