Russian Bots Roast ‘Clown' Donald Trump After Putin Comments
Russian bots have turned on U.S. President Donald Trump after he publicly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.
Almost 1,000 derogatory posts targeting Trump have surfaced on the Russian social media platform VKontakte since Sunday, when Trump wrote on Truth Social that Putin had gone "absolutely CRAZY!" and was "needlessly killing a lot of people" in Ukraine.
The accounts, operating "in the interests of the Kremlin," have accused Trump of having dementia and called him a "clown," Agentstvo, an independent investigative Russian news outlet, reported on Tuesday.
While the Kremlin downplayed Trump's remarks about Putin, pro-Kremlin bots have launched a smear campaign against the U.S. president. The online attacks suggest that Putin may be less than pleased with Trump's sudden shift in tone, despite the U.S. president recently describing their latest phone call as having gone "very well."
The relationship between Russia and the U.S. became severely strained after Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but relations thawed when Trump was sworn into office in January. The U.S. president has pushed for a ceasefire, urging his Russian counterpart to end the war.
A spokesperson for the bot-tracking project Botnadzor found that pro-Kremlin bots abandoned their neutral tone in comments about Trump after his criticism of Putin on Sunday.
Trump lashed out after Russia bombarded Ukraine with missiles and drones over the weekend—something Putin's military has been doing since the onset of the full-scale invasion—in one of the biggest attacks yet.
Trump wrote that "something has happened" to Putin to make him "needlessly" kill a lot of people. "And I'm not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever," he added.
He also said of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, "Everything out of his mouth causes problems."
The U.S. president would not discuss any action he might take when questioned by reporters on Sunday.
Comments from the Russian bots accused Trump of "acting like a child" and "getting so mad early in the morning, as if he wasn't given what he wanted." Others said, "He's really lost his mind" and "wants to sit on two chairs"—a Russian idiom for trying to play both sides.
One bot wrote: "It's not Putin who's gone crazy, but Trump. Apparently, dementia comes as a hereditary gift for all U.S. presidents—along with the [presidential] chair."
Another bot mocked Trump as a "showman," while others dismissed him as a "clown."
"What can you expect from a clown who threatens Russia instead of taking care of his own country?" one wrote.
Previously, pro-Kremlin trolls had been notably restrained in commenting on Trump, using neutral or careful language, Agentstvo reported.
On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov shrugged off Trump's remarks as a case of "emotional overstrain."
Peskov said Trump's remarks were likely "connected with the importance of the negotiation process" in the war between Russia and Ukraine, Tass reported on Monday.
Trump, who was inaugurated on January 20, had campaigned on a promise to end the war within 24 hours of his return to office.
Zelensky, meanwhile, has called for more oil sanctions on Russia, telling the United States and Europe, "Russia can only be constrained by force."
U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday: "I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I'm not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever. I've always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that's proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!
"Likewise, President Zelenskyy is doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does. Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don't like it, and it better stop. This is a War that would never have started if I were President. This is Zelenskyy's, Putin's, and Biden's War, not 'Trump's,' I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires, that have been started through Gross Incompetence and Hatred."
Trump also told reporters on Sunday: "I'm not happy with what Putin's doing. He's killing a lot of people, and I don't know what the hell happened to Putin. I've known him a long time, always gotten along with him. But he's sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don't like it at all. We're in the middle of talking, and he's tuning rockets into Kyiv and other cities. I don't like it at all."
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday: "We are really grateful to the Americans and to President Trump personally for their assistance in organizing and launching this negotiation process. Of course, at the same time, this is a very crucial moment, which is associated, of course, with the emotional overstrain of everyone absolutely and with emotional reactions."
After his call with Putin, Trump said direct Russia-Ukraine talks were to resume immediately.
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