Russia state TV host suggests Moscow could 'reinstall' Trump as US president

• A Russian state TV host said Moscow hasn't decided whether to "reinstall" Trump as president in 2024.
• The US intelligence community concluded Russia interfered in 2016 and 2020 to boost Trump's chances of winning.

Russian state TV host Olga Skabeyeva suggested that the Kremlin has the power to propel Donald Trump back into the White House if he runs again in 2024.

During an episode of her talk show this week Skabeyeva, a prominent Kremlin propagandist, said Russia "will have to think whether to reinstall him again as the American president. We haven't decided yet."

—Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) July 5, 2022

The host's comments, translated Julia Davis, who monitors and analyzes Russian media, underscores the ongoing threat Russia poses to US elections, particularly at a time of high tension between the two nations.

Intelligence agencies in the US concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 and 2020 elections in an effort to boost Trump's chances of winning. The US intelligence community has also emphasized that no American votes were altered as part of these efforts.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied that Russia interfered in US elections.

Throughout his presidency, Trump's relationship with Russia was heavily scrutinized as he routinely downplayed the Kremlin's interference in US elections.

An investigation into Russian election interference led by special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that the Trump campaign deliberately conspired or coordinated with Moscow to interfere in the 2016 election. But it did conclude that the Trump campaign welcomed Russia's interference.

Mueller's final report said that "the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome, and that the [Trump] Campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts."

Trump and Russia

Trump has often faced criticism for habitually praising and defending Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In one of the more infamous moments of his presidency, Trump — while meeting with Putin in Helsinki during 2018 — appeared to side with the Russian leader over his US intelligence apparatus on the subject of Russia's election interference.

Trump later walked back on those comments amid bipartisan criticism in Washington, claiming he misspoke.

But even in his post-presidency, Trump has not stopped praising Putin. The former president in February hailed Putin's justifications for attacking Ukraine as "genius" and "savvy." The Ukraine war has exacerbated the contentious dynamic between Moscow and Washington, leading the Biden administration to slap unprecedented sanctions on Russia.

Trump, who continues wield unparalleled influence over the Republican party, hasn't formally announced he'll run in 2024. But he's hinted he intends to seek the GOP presidential nomination once again, even as other Republicans, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, position themselves for potential White House bids of their own.

Meanwhile, Trump and his allies are still pushing false claims about the 2020 election, rejecting the results with conspiratorial, baseless claims about mass voter fraud.

Democrats accuse Trump of instigating a deadly insurrection at the US Capitol in January 2021 in a bid to stop Congress' certification of states' electoral vote counts, and the US House impeached him for a second time as a result, although the US Senate acquitted him.