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By Zoe Strozewski
Staff Writer
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A Russian state television host suggested that Russia is weighing whether to "reinstall" former President Donald Trump "again" as the United States' leader in a future election.
State television Olga Skabeeva host alleged in the clip that Trump "promised" the other day to "destroy the Russian Federation, to destroy [Russia President Vladimir] Putin's hegemony, as he put it," according to an English translation provided by Julia Davis, a columnist for The Daily Beast.
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Alexander Kamkin, who was identified as a political scientist, responded: "That is excellent, if Trump becomes the president, we will know his geopolitical goals." But Skabeeva interjected that Russia will "have to think whether to reinstall him again as the American president," adding that the country has not "decided yet."
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Newsweek was not able to locate any instances in which Trump recently, or ever, promised to destroy Russia and "Putin's hegemony."
When Trump first ran for president in 2016 and won against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Russia was accused of meddling in the vote in Trump's favor. The U.S. intelligence community concluded that Russia did, in fact, meddle in the election, an assessment that was backed up by a bipartisan Senate report.
A nearly two-year investigation saw special counsel Robert Mueller compile a lengthy 448-page report that concluded Trump's campaign did not conspire with Russia in the alleged interference effort. Mueller noted that "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
After losing to President Joe Biden in the contentious 2020 election, Trump has yet to officially announce whether he will seek another presidential term in 2024.
Davis shared the Russian state television clip on Twitter Tuesday, but the exact date on which the two Russian figures made the comments about Trump was not immediately clear. The video had received nearly 142,000 views by publication time.
As Skabeeva and Kamkin spoke, the Russian state television show played a brief clip in the background of Trump speaking at a rally, though it included no audio of what the former president was saying. The rally coverage came from the American conservative news outlet Newsmax, and the event was flagged as taking place in Conroe, Texas.
Trump did hold a rally in the Texas city, but it took place in late January, weeks before Russia launched its widely-condemned invasion of Ukraine in late February. The former president's most recent rally took place in Illinois on June 25.
Newsweek reached out to Russia's Foreign Ministry and a Trump spokesperson for comment.
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