If you think the American wing of Trump World has lost their minds over the FBI searching Mar-a-Lago (and boy, have they), you clearly haven’t been watching Russian state television. The Daily Beast has, and they’re making the likes of Jesse Watters, Lauren Boebert, and Rudy Giuliani look like amateurs.
Russian State TV has long been virulently pro-Trump (and pro-Tucker Carlson, of course). On Monday night various shows were praising CPAC for sticking by their favorite U.S. president even as Fox News has threatened to decamp for Ron DeSantis. Then the feds arrived at the resort where Trump now resides. Tuesday night’s news broadcasts went all-in, repeating some of the more outlandish takes from most hysterical sections of MAGA-land, and throwing in some bald exaggerations about “one hundred FBI agents” as well.
Take Russian 60 Minutes. Appearing on Tuesday’s show, military expert Igor Korotchenko — who’s straight-up called for Putin to support Trump should he run in 2024 — called the FBI search a “witch hunt,” “worse than McCarthyism,” and a “symbol of inordinate despotism.”
On the same broadcast, Evgeny Popov, deputy of Russia’s State Duma and a self-avowed “friend” and “protégé” of Trump, offered a little theory on why Trump received a visit from the feds. “As soon as Donald Trump complained that Biden was the worst president in the history of the United States, which is fast becoming a third world country, there was a knock on Donald’s door: “Knock-knock, this is the FBI!” (Biden has claimed to have had no knowledge of the search and learned about it along with everyone else.)
Popov also had the stones to cry about the persecution of dissidents. “Biden, with his dictatorial tendencies, repressions, and persecution of dissidents, is turning America into Ukraine,” he bellowed. “He already did that, since the opposition is being persecuted by authorities.” Popov then fantasized about Florida seceding from the U.S.
Meanwhile, on Full Contact With Vladimir Solovyov, its host rhapsodized about the potential for violent conflict in the United States. “Could this be the beginning of a civil war?” he mused. “This is totally unprecedented, I don’t remember anything like this in American history. If Trump calls on his supporters to come out—and half the states are led by Trump’s allies — there’ll be hell to pay.”
Correspondent Valentin Bogdanov, speaking from New York City, weighed in, saying, “The civil war is already underway in the United States. For now, this is a cold civil war, but it keeps heating up.”
Then again, Russian State TV isn’t the only one going to such hysterical lengths. Talk of a civil war is all the rage on Trump’s rinky-dink Twitter clone.
You can read more about the madness at The Daily Beast.