Russian State Media Abandons Trump Amid His Criticism of Putin

Russian state media has unleashed a wave of criticism towards U.S. President Donald Trump after he accused Vladimir Putin of speaking «a lot of bulls***» regarding the conflict in Ukraine, according to the exiled news outlet Agentsvo, reported on Wednesday.

Trump’s strong condemnation came after his phone conversation with Putin on July 4, in which both leaders failed to make any significant advancements toward resolving Russia’s war in Ukraine, despite Trump’s repeated assurances to end it.

Media outlets that previously portrayed Trump as a more reasonable alternative to his predecessor Joe Biden are now overtly challenging his judgment, intellect, and political reliability.

Vladimir Solovyov, a leading pro-Kremlin television personality, criticized Trump during his popular talk show on Tuesday for using what he characterized as a disrespectful tone when addressing Putin.

“Trump has begun to speak in an impolite manner,” Solovyov remarked. “It appears he is undergoing a ‘Bidenization.’ His belief that he alone can engage with Putin has turned him into a different version of Biden.”

He emphasized that Russia had no obligation to cater to Trump’s preferences.

The following day, state TV presenter Olga Skabeyeva suggested that the U.S. might exploit Ukraine’s call for an inquiry into Russia’s potential use of chemical weapons as a pretext to “crush our regime,” asking rhetorically, “Will we see a test tube from [CIA Director John] Ratcliffe?” implying that American intelligence could fabricate evidence of Russia’s wrongdoing.

The state-owned media organization Vesti argued that Trump’s frustration with Putin showcases his concern that the situation in Ukraine is not evolving in line with his expectations.

Additionally, a correspondent on state broadcaster Rossia 1 went further, stating, “Trump’s ‘personal Afghanistan’ is looming as Ukraine collapses. The leader of the White House is increasingly mirroring his predecessor, whom he detests so much.”

This shift in tone has also been noted across Russian pro-war Telegram channels and in social media forums referred to as Z-channels.

War correspondent Alexander Kotz made light of Trump’s diplomatic blunder during his time in the White House when he questioned how Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai spoke English so well, given that English is Liberia’s official language.

“By the end of his term, Trump might outdo Biden in making public blunders,” Kotz commented.

On VKontakte, Russia’s largest social media platform, criticism of Trump has seen a sharp increase. A monitoring group named Botnadzor, which tracks state-related bot activity, reported that over 2,000 negative comments about Trump surfaced under posts addressing his recent statements.

Many comments referred to Trump as a “fool,” “blabbermouth,” or “bipolar,” while others accused him of “bluffing” about increasing arms supplies to Kyiv, claiming he would not take any substantial action.

Following his call with Putin on July 4, Trump pledged that the U.S. would resume weapon shipments to Ukraine to bolster defenses against Russian offensives.