Russian analysts rate Donald Trump as a 'sober leader'
Russian experts believe that the elected candidate Donald Trump is a “more sober figure” as the US President.
According to RT, Russian political scientists said that in Russian society, the elected candidate Donald Trump is considered a “more sober figure” than the US President. This is based on the assessment criteria of an American politician’s attitude towards Russia and the situation around Ukraine.
Professor and candidate of political science Dmitry Evstafiev commented: “Mr. Trump still maintains a political realist stance, despite his rather aggressive decisions. He made the idea of getting the US out of a major war that could break out between Russia and NATO over Ukraine the centerpiece of his election campaign. In his first term, Mr. Trump still tried to think about the consequences of his decisions. This is unlike the administration of President Joe Biden, which maintains a “strange” tough stance towards Russia.”
On the contrary, American political scientist Malek Dudkov believes that many Russians may be attracted to Donald Trump because of his “image of a classic American capitalist”.
“Despite the differences, Trump’s image looks more attractive, against the backdrop of politicians in the Democratic Party, including Vice President Kamala Harris – who is seen as being greatly influenced by the “shadow” of President Joe Biden,” expert Dudkov said in a conversation with RT.
According to RT, earlier, at a major campaign rally in New York, Mr. Donald Trump repeatedly mentioned the issue of Russia. Commenting on the Ukraine conflict, the former US President twice made statements about President Vladimir Putin, reiterating that he cooperated very well with the Russian leader.
“I know how to get along with them. I get along very well with Mr. Putin. And hopefully I can get along better with him in the future,” Mr. Trump said.
The former US President also mentioned his good personal relationship with the Russian leader during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr. Trump promised to find a solution to the conflict in Ukraine even before he took office. Mr. Trump emphasized that Russia should not be expected to fail, and warned “to remember the fate of Hitler and Napoleon.” This idea was repeated again in an interview with billionaire Elon Musk: “Russia defeated Germany, defeated Napoleon. Russia has a lot of experience and great fighting power,” Mr. Trump said.
Following Donald Trump's victory in the US election, the Kremlin said that Trump is likely to contact Russian President Putin soon, before the inauguration in the US. The Kremlin spokesman said that there is currently no plan to prepare for a possible meeting between President Putin and Donald Trump.
The Russian Foreign Ministry affirmed that Moscow has never refused to contact the United States. This statement was made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, answering a question about the prospects of dialogue with representatives of the future administration in the United States. According to Mr. Lavrov, "dialogue is always better than confrontation and isolation."
Analyst Malek Dudkov believes that, despite the fact that Donald Trump is not a “pro-Russia” politician and will in any case protect US interests above all, Trump is still a pragmatist and as the head of the White House, “it will be easier for Washington and Moscow to find some common interests.”
“Trump, as a realist, if he sees the situation in Ukraine as unfavorable, he will start to put pressure on Kiev and negotiate with Russia. He will try to shift the responsibility for Ukraine to Europe, shifting the focus of US foreign policy to other areas that he prefers, such as Asia to compete with China or the Middle East,” analyst Dudkov argued.
So, for the Kiev authorities, the current victory of candidate Donald Trump is actually a “negative story,” expert Dudkov believes.
“The volume of military aid from the US under Trump will probably decrease, the US will pay less attention to Ukraine, which is quite logical, because this agenda is not currently the basis of the entire US foreign policy in the 21st century,” expert Dudkov predicted.
However, Evgeniy Semibratov, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasting at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, has a different opinion. He believes that former President Trump would want to “end the conflict in Ukraine on good terms,” but this does not mean that his plan would be beneficial to Russia.
“The main motto is that he will make America great. And a complete, brilliant victory for Russia in a special military operation cannot prevent this. And Trump understands this. He said that if President Putin does not accept his plan, he will significantly increase support for the Kiev regime. But the question of whether the American industry and the West as a whole are capable of doing this remains open. After all, this is why the Ukrainian armed forces are significantly short of weapons. And how Trump will get out of this situation is still unclear,” Semibratov argues.