The Kremlin said on Wednesday it viewed U.S. President Barack Obama's recent statements on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as anti-Russian and said they were unlikely to improve fragile relations between Russia and the United States.
Obama on Tuesday strongly criticized Trump for praising Russian President Vladimir Putin and for appearing on a TV channel, RT, funded by the Russian government.
"Unfortunately, we see continued displays of often hard-core Russophobia," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Obama's intervention, told a conference call with reporters. "We can only express regret in this regard.
"This rhetoric, which is being formulated in electoral campaign style ... is unlikely to help fledgling fragile attempts to build at least some sort of mutual trust."
I would assume that the Kremlin meant to frame this as a condemnation of Obama's use of Trump's ties to Russia as a criticism.
However for a foreign government to criticize a sitting president for how he talks about a presidential candidate, and to suggest that by doing it that way he is damaging future interactions with that foreign government, is more than a little heavy handed.
Essentially at this point Putin might as well show up to Trump rallies and help energize the crowd.
At this point I really don't think it would turn off Trump supporters.
Now personally I have never been somebody who bought into the whole Russia evil, America good narrative. However I don't think it is anti-Russian to distrust Vladimir Putin anymore than it was anti-American for other countries to distrust George W. Bush.
And ANYBODY who Putin is pushing for in an American election is somebody that the voters should view with a very critical eye indeed.
Source http://ift.tt/2cq7cQV
