Analysis reveals why Trump and Putin 'started reading from the same script' on 2024 messaging

During the Cold War, the last thing that Republicans had in mind was turning to the Kremlin for their talking points. But in 2023, Donald Trump's defenders — whether they are pundits for Newsmax or state-owned Russian media — often say the same things about the four criminal prosecutions he is facing.

The prosecutions, Trump's defenders claim, are politically motivated attempts to keep the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner from winning next year.

In an opinion column published for MSNBC's MaddowBlog on September 13, liberal journalist Steve Benen lays out the parallels between Russian President Vladimir Putin's comments on the prosecutions and Trump's claims.

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Putin, during an economic forum on September 12, claimed that the indictments underscore "the whole rottenness of the American political system" and added, "What's happening with Trump is a persecution of a political rival for political motives."

On September 13, Trump went to his Truth Social platform and posted, "President Vladimir Putin of Russia is using Crooked Joe Biden's illegal Banana Republic style treatment of his Political Opponent, who is beating him badly in the Polls, to condemn America and all of the good things it once stood for. The whole World is watching as the USA is being torn apart by dreams of Election Interference!"

Benen, a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC, argues that "when it comes to 2024 messaging, Trump and Putin have effectively linked arms and started reading from the same script."

"Given everything we’ve learned about their partnership over the course of the last several years — it was, after all, Putin's government that worked to put Trump in the White House in the first place — this might not seem especially surprising," Benen writes. "Indeed, the former American president continues to side with the Russian leader about all sorts of things."

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Benen continues, "So, it stands to reason that his ally in Moscow would echo his political talking points…. It's as if Trump believes his ludicrous conspiracy theories have merit because they've now been publicly validated by the Russian dictator…. Trump thought the smart move would be to highlight Putin's condemnations of the United States and willingness to endorse his conspiratorial nonsense."

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Read Steve Benen's full column at this link.