World reaction to US presidential debate: Mockery from China and Russia, concern from allies
Peter Aitken Sat, June 29, 2024
America's adversaries didn't just think President Biden got pummeled in Thursday's debate, they claim the United States was the real loser.
Russia, China, Iran and others weighed in after Biden's faltering performance left viewers stunned. Media outlets in those countries, many of which are government-run, seized on the debate debacle to criticize the U.S.
"Every outlet, big and small, carries a piece describing what happened," Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst and author of "Putin’s Playbook," told Fox News Digital. "Some have more than one. Most of them, if not all, are derogatory of both candidates and mocking America."
"What [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is seeing is that the American Society is deeply fractured and consumed by its own problems," Koffler said. "Putin likely believes that Russia wins either way, no matter who wins, because he expects the U.S. to plunge into chaos in the aftermath of the elections, because the country is so divided and polarized."
"Bottom line, Moscow feels confident that the societal crisis that has engulfed the U.S. is good for Russia," she added.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed that Putin "was too bored to wake up and watch the U.S. debate," but that "we have seen media reports about these debates."
Peskov added that the Kremlin has made no attempt to "assess this debate" or make "official conclusions" and insisted that Russia has "never interfered in the election campaigns of the United States."
Outside the Kremlin, Russian media have reportedly touted the debate as a victory for Russia, with Putin positioned to dictate terms in the war in Ukraine – especially if Donald Trump were to win the White House.
They highlighted Biden’s "half-open mouth, unblinking eyes" and "blank expression on his face."
"This is how Joe Biden appeared before an audience of millions," Russian state TV New York bureau chief Valentin Bogdanov said on Kremlin-backed RT.
The news report especially focused on the reaction from CNN, calling the anchors "powerless" and the Democratic Party in the throes of a "deep panic," according to East2West.
China also took an unfavorable view of the debate. Official media appeared to generally ignore it, but the state-run Global Times labeled it "the most chaotic presidential debate ever" and "like a reality show" while also highlighting the times Biden and Trump talked about China, according to the BBC.
The Global Times most specifically took issue with Trump blaming Beijing for "the raging COVID-19 epidemic and U.S. economic woes."
State-owned Beijing News claimed that the debate exposed both candidates’ shortcomings, with a "habitually confused" Biden and Trump spreading "rumors" instead of answering questions directly.
The Xinhua news agency framed the debate within the context of an America "weary of another Biden-Trump match-up" and focusing on Biden’s "several verbal slips" and "unclear" speech, while hitting Trump for failing to answer questions directly while providing statements that "contained many exaggerations and falsehoods."
Chinese social media personalities were even more pointed. Former state media editor Hu Xijin on social media platform X mocked the U.S. presidential debate for proving "very entertaining for many Chinese people," according to Newsweek.…
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world-reaction-us-presidential-debate-170424955.html