If you thought the 2020 US presidential election might be a Russia-free affair, think again. The latest conspiracy taking hold online asserts that Moscow is behind the controversy over potential candidate Joe Biden’s creepy past.
Social media has long been chock-full of images and videos demonstrating Biden’s overly touchy-feely approach with women he came into (too much) contact with over the course of his political career.
The story grew into a bigger controversy, however, as multiple women came forward to accuse the former vice president of almost-harassment and stepping over personal boundaries in his interactions with them, which prompted many to wonder whether the scandal will hurt his chances if he decides to run for president in 2020, as expected.
Yet, despite the fact that commentators have been reflecting on the Democrat’s cringe-inducing handsy behavior for years, his supporters are smelling a nefarious Russian plot at play.
The entire scandal was probably cooked up by the Russians to “sow discord” within the Democratic Party, one tweeter claimed. Another suggested that the way the Biden story was being spread felt very “Russian-inspired.”
Russia has "unleashed" its online “trolls” against Biden...
Some took things even further, claiming that the so-called anti-Biden campaign wasn't new, but that Moscow had been "pushing this Biden propaganda for 2 years.”
Others engaged in full-fledged mental gymnastics, claiming that presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, Russia and the DNC (strange bedfellows) were all behind the “smear campaign” against Biden.
But the loony theories didn’t end there. What if the women accusing Biden of inappropriate touching are Russian “plants” designed to destroy his campaign?
Some pointed out that one of Biden’s accusers is a Sanders supporter with “a political ax to grind” which apparently invalidates her opinions on the former VP.
Maybe Russian President Vladimir Putin is not exactly behind the whole thing, but he and other “outside agitators” will still be "exploiting" it in 2020, another tweeter offered.
There was some pushback against the latest blame-Russia theory, however, with some tweeters calling out the "Russophobic mind-conditioning" that prevents them from thinking rationally and assuming everyone they don't like is a "Russian operative."
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