Now even ‘Russia Today’ is joking about Trump’s looming re-election defeat

Allegations of dealings with the Russian government have plagued Donald Trump’s presidency since before he took office. Now even Moscow’s most infamous global media outlet — Russia Today — is having some fun at Trump’s expense. On September 22, RT shared a deepfake video parodying the 45th U.S. president’s options after his potential defeat by Joe Biden this fall. “November 3: Donald Trump loses U.S. election to Joe Biden,” says the caption for RT’s YouTube video. “November 5: Trump flies to Moscow to sign a contract with RT.”

In the video, Trump struggles to keep up with a teleprompter, he stands at attention when receiving a phone call from the Kremlin, and he skips out on his Moscow cafeteria bill, saying Mexico will pay for his food.

On social media, Russia Today editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan shared the video, writing: “You wanted fakes? Try this one on for size.” Simonyan’s willingness to mock Trump represents a sharp departure from her attitude four years ago, after Trump was elected, when she famously tweeted that she wanted to parade an American flag through Moscow.