Russian state officials and politicians respond optimistically to Trump’s election victory, despite Putin’s claimed preference for Harris

Though Vladimir Putin claimed in September that the Kremlin favored Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. presidential race, and despite Putin’s decision not to congratulate Donald Trump on his apparent victory, Russian officials and politicians have welcomed the news that America’s 45th president will return as its 47th.

National Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev was one of the first to comment on the preliminary results from the United States, writing on his Telegram channel: “Trump has one quality that’s useful for us: As a businessman to his core, he absolutely hates spending money on spongers and freeloaders — on stupid little allies, dumb charity projects, and greedy international organizations, which includes Toxic Bandera Ukraine [sic]. The question is how much they’ll force Trump to give for the war.” In even more offensive language, Medvedev also suggested that Trump’s return to the White House is a severe blow to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dedicated several Telegram posts to the U.S. elections, writing, “Kamala Harris turned out to be right when she quoted Psalm 30:5: ‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.’ Hallelujah, I’ll add for myself.” In another post, Zakharova said, “Those who live by love for their own country, not by hatred for others, are the ones who win.”

Leonid Slutsky, the leader of Russia’s nationalist LDPR party, told reporters that Trump’s victory is a vote by Americans to prioritize national interests. He also argued that Trump’s second presidency offers Republicans a chance to take a more constructive approach to the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, in comments on Wednesday morning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented more cautiously on the possibility of U.S. Ukraine policy shifting under Trump. “Whether this will happen and in what way, we’ll see after January,” said Putin’s press secretary.