Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? Whoever wins the White House will have to deal with a Vladimir Putin who is aiming for chaos. Says Wladimir Kaminer.
The TV debate between the two American presidential candidates was broadcast in Russia with dubbed translation and had more viewers than ice hockey games. I read the comments. The Russians are despairing of Kamala’s smile.
But the candidate for the White House’s cheerfulness is slowly becoming her downfall. First, a Swiss newspaper accused her of not smiling authentically enough and of just trying to hide her insecurity. Then, suddenly, Russian leader Vladimir Putin paid her a compliment. “She has such an infectious smile that you immediately want to laugh along,” said Putin, but did not imitate her.
Vladimir Kaminer is a writer and columnist. He was born in Moscow in 1967 and has lived in Germany for decades. His best known works include “Russian disco“. His latest book “Enjoy your meal! Stories from Europe’s tables” was published on August 28, 2024.
Given the amount of Botox he must have injected, he can only grin very cautiously. “A person who laughs so well can’t be a bad person,” he said in response to the question of which presidential candidate in America he supported. Being praised by Putin doesn’t win you any plus points in times like these – and is clear interference in the US presidential election. Donald Trump immediately thanked Putin for the small gesture of support.
But in this case, Putin actually told the truth for once. He is not betting on one candidate or another; Putin is very interested in eradicating America from the global political context, at least for a while. If Kamala Harris really does win the presidential election in November, her opponent will never accept defeat.
This would bring the divided country to the brink of civil war, and the new administration would have to do everything to avoid turmoil. It could well happen that America disappears from the international stage for at least half a year and only looks after its own affairs. Putin’s friend is not one candidate or the other, but American chaos.
He would then like to use the six months to bring Ukraine to its knees. And the new American president, whether man or woman, would ultimately have to negotiate with a winner, not a loser. It is not a question of how contagious someone’s laughter is, but of when they do it. He who laughs last, laughs best.
For Putin and all of Russia, American politicians are like actors and comedians who have to put on a good show: Russian television has just produced an elaborate comedy series about Joe Biden, called “Goodbye”. I’ll give something away at this point: the film will definitely not be shown in Germany. According to the script, the American president consults with his CIA about the magical resilience of the Russians.
This man in the White House doesn’t understand why the Russians don’t give in despite sanctions and how they can survive without American goods, without McDonald’s and without Hollywood. The simplest idea that Russia is the richest and largest country in the world, with an incredibly strong economy, a wise leader and its own pelmeni that taste better than any McDonald’s product, doesn’t occur to the Americans in the plot of the series. Too stupid.
So, during the course of the series, the president decides to fly to Russia incognito to find out how he can finish off the Russians once and for all. The Russian Biden says this and laughs very infectiously. The US president is played by an actor who previously played almost exclusively villains and bandits. For this role, he was given huge American teeth and laughs the whole time. When he arrives in Russia, the fake Biden is plied with vodka by hospitable people, loses his papers and gets into trouble.
Because nobody wants to believe that he is the American president. The rubles are all gone, dollars are forbidden, so he goes to school to work as an English teacher. This version of Biden slowly understands what kind-hearted people the Russians are and even discovers a Russian soul in himself. The film was financed by Gazprom-Media, a company that initially lost almost 80 percent of its profits due to Putin’s war. But the company is not angry with the leader Putin because of this. If the Russians have laughed at Biden, Gazprom will probably make another series about Kamala Harris or Donald Trump.
