Stony-Faced Kremlin Propagandists Digest Trump’s Sanctions Threats

Russia eagerly awaited the return of President Donald Trump to the White House, believing he would lift sanctions and hand Ukraine to the Kremlin on a silver platter. The honeymoon was short-lived.

Trump’s social media post on January 22 threatened Russia with added sanctions and criticized its economy caused shockwaves in Moscow.

Trump wrote: “I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE.”

The same propagandists who cheered Trump’s return were left scratching their heads, perhaps remembering the old expression, “Be careful what you wish for.” Ironically, January 22’s broadcast of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov started with a video of Russian President Vladimir Putin talking about inflation that had exceeded the levels predicted and anticipated by the government. A segue to Trump’s criticism of Russia’s struggling economy fitted into the show like a missing piece of the puzzle.

Decorated state TV host and leading propagandist Vladimir Solovyov — who often referred to the US president by the affectionate diminutive Trumpushka and repeatedly claimed him as one of Moscow’s own — was grim-faced, as he recited Trump’s threats to impose additional sanctions if Russia rejects his proposal to end its invasion of Ukraine.

The US president had threatened: “If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”

The rest of the pundits seemed equally dismayed. The same was likely true for the editorial team, who entitled the segment, “Trump resorts to blackmail and threats towards Russia.”

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State Duma member Andrey Gurulyov observed: “Any commander will tell you, we won’t be able to achieve anything without an economy.” With anger and frustration boiling over, he said, “Look at what Trump is doing! Let’s be honest, today he stepped out not as the US president, but as the owner of the world . . . He’s acting like a hooligan that hasn’t gotten a beating in a long time. What is he doing? Here we’ve been saying, ‘Trump, Trump,’ but who is he threatening? Is he threatening us? He started with an ultimatum!”

Gurulyov was just getting started. “Is he going to impose sanctions? Is he going to isolate Russia?” He loudly accused Trump of throwing feces at the fan and complained, “You can’t talk to Russia this way!” He urged Putin to start responding to Trump’s posts on X (formerly Twitter), or better yet, to resort to nuclear tests and nuclear strikes. Solovyov eagerly chimed in, once again urging Russia to destroy London, the propagandist’s favored go-to when things are looking grim. But even this time-honored tactic failed to improve the mood in the studio.

On his radio show Full Contact Thursday morning, Solovyov shifted his stance from previous years with a complete 180-degree turn, where the beloved Trumpushka was suddenly a sworn enemy.

He started his show sternly: “I will be very harsh and direct about what Trump wrote. I’ve been saying this, we shouldn’t harbor any illusions. Trump is unquestionably our systemic enemy. He has no basis to have any sorts of positive contacts with us.” A grimacing Solovyov said that Trump’s post made him clench his fists. He questioned, “Can you really talk to the great Russia this way? Are we losing this war? Is the enemy at our gates?”

He urged Moscow to escalate the war, arguing: “We don’t need their love, we need their fear. Our enemies will never love us — neither the Ukro-Nazis nor the Europeans or Americans.”

A similar approach was advocated by the Chairman of the Defense Committee of the State Duma Andrey Kartapolov. Speaking about Trump’s ultimatum during his appearance on the state TV show 60 Minutes, he said: “We lived just fine without their all-consuming love, and we will keep living without it. Let them get lost with these statements.”

He added, “We should not forget that Trump is a poser. He is performing for the public. Who knows what he’s really thinking?” Instead, Kartapolov insisted, the conflict would be resolved “by [our] Commander-in-Chief, our President, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. No matter what they say, it will be decided on the battlefield.”

A day earlier, appearing on The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, filmmaker Karen Shakhnazarov cautioned everyone to temper their expectations about Trump’s efforts to end the war. He warned that when Russia rejects US proposals, America might increase its military support of Ukraine.

Julia Davis is a columnist for The Daily Beast and the creator of the Russian Media Monitor. She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Screen Actors Guild, and Women In Film.

Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position or views of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.