US presidential debates are of no particular interest to the Russian president, who had no reason to watch Thursday night’s event, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
During the televised clash at CNN’s studio in Atlanta between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the issue of Russia cropped up – with the two rivals accusing each other of “encouraging” Vladimir Putin to start hostilities with Ukraine in 2022, and taking a weak stance on Moscow.
Russian journalists asked Peskov whether Putin watched the live debate.
”You don’t expect the president of Russia to set an alarm clock to wake up early in the morning and watch the debate in the US, do you?” he said, referring to the time difference between the two nations.
Domestic electoral politics in the US are “not among the priority issues for our agenda in any way,” he added. Putin’s office will analyze the statements made by the candidates in due course, but it is an internal US issue, Peskov stressed.
Moscow will not publicly assess the outcome of the debate, the spokesman stressed, as this would constitute interference in the domestic politics of a foreign nation, something that Russia does not do despite US claims to the contrary.
The Trump presidency from 2017 to 2021 was overshadowed by the ‘Russiagate’ narrative based on claims that he “colluded” with Russia to win the 2016 election, an idea given relentless coverage by news outlets at the time. However, an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence to prosecute anyone for an alleged connection with Moscow. Critics of ‘Russiagate’ have argued that it was invented by the Democratic Party leadership to explain Hillary Clinton’s loss at the ballot box.
The Trump-Biden debate has been widely described by the US media as a humiliation for the 81-year-old Democrat. The incumbent failed to demonstrate sufficient vigor and mental acuity win a second term, most political analysts have agreed. In a CNN flash poll, 67% of registered voters who watched the debate said Trump performed better, while 33% said the same of Biden.