Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he preferred President Biden to Donald Trump in the U.S. election, describing the president as “more experienced” and “predictable” in his first public comments on the race.
In an interview with Russian state television released late Wednesday, Putin said Biden “is a politician of the old school” and added that Moscow would work with any elected U.S. leader. Trump, meanwhile, mentioned Putin’s remarks during a campaign rally Wednesday night in South Carolina.
“He’s just said that he would much rather have Joe Biden as president than Trump. Now that’s a compliment. A lot of people said, ‘Oh, gee, that’s too bad.’ No, no, that’s a good thing.”
Putin, who faces an election next month that he is expected to win after Russian authorities eliminated any serious opposition, has publicly praised Trump in the past. Ahead of the 2016 election, Putin described then-candidate Trump as a “colorful and talented person, without a doubt.”
