- A Kremlin propagandist bizarrely claimed that Putin would beat Biden in a US presidential election.
- Another pundit added that Trump would be Putin's vice president in this outlandish hypothetical scenario.
- Putin's approval ratings have tanked outside Russia since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
A Kremlin propagandist has bizarrely claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is so popular that Americans would overwhelmingly choose to vote for him over President Joe Biden.
Yaakov Kedmi, a regular commentator on Russian state media, appeared on Thursday's episode of "This Evening with Vladimir Solovyov" and argued that Putin's global popularity is soaring, according to the Daily Beast.
While Putin's approval ratings in Russia have shot up since he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, the unprovoked war has caused his international reputation to suffer. Nonetheless, Kedmi opined on Russian state media that Putin is electable in Western nations.
"It was said that [the West] is winning a propaganda war but I'm not so sure about that," Kedmi said, per the Daily Beast. "Look at any country in Europe. Look at France: who is more popular — Macron or Putin?"
After other commentators responded that the answer was Putin, Kedmi suggested that the Russian leader is also more popular in Germany, Italy, and the US than their current leaders, per the Daily Beast.
Kedmi said: "If tomorrow Putin announced his candidacy for the president of the United States, who in the US could compete with him in popularity?"
According to the Daily Beast, foreign policy analyst Alexander Kamkin responded: "And Trump would become his vice president."
While President Joe Biden's approval ratings sunk to a record low earlier this month, a Pew Research Center poll from last month shows that Putin's reputation is significantly worse.
According to the poll, which surveyed 3,581 US adults, positive views of Putin are in the single digits. Only six percent of those surveyed said they had confidence in the Russian leader to do the right thing regarding world affairs. However, 48% of those surveyed have confidence in Biden's ability to do the same.
The implausible suggestion by Kamkin that Trump would be Putin's vice president follows a Russian state TV host suggesting that Moscow could "reinstall" him as US president.
Insider's John Haltiwanger reported that Olga Skabeyeva, a prominent Kremlin propagandist, suggested that Russia has the power to propel Trump back into the White House should he choose to run.