Day: February 23, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said U.S. President Joe Biden calling him a “crazy SOB” was an “appropriate reaction.”

According to the Associated Press, Biden was speaking about climate change at a California fundraiser on Wednesday when he said, “We have a crazy SOB [son of a b****] like Putin and others, and we always have to worry about nuclear conflict, but the existential threat to humanity is climate.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov condemned Biden’s comments as a “great disgrace” to the U.S. and said “Biden behaves in the Hollywood cowboy style to serve internal political interests.”

Putin’s response, though, was reportedly more sarcastic, with Reuters describing an “ironic smile” on the Russian leader’s face when he was asked about the “SOB” remark.

On the left, Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen at an aviation plant on February 21, 2024, in Kazan, Russia. On the right, U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks from the Roosevelt Room of the…
On the left, Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen at an aviation plant on February 21, 2024, in Kazan, Russia. On the right, U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on February 16, 2024 in Washington, DC. Putin on Thursday said Biden was right to call him a “crazy SOB.” Photos by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Speaking to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, Putin referenced his statement last week that he would prefer Biden win the 2024 presidential election over former President Donald Trump and said Biden’s “SOB” comment reaffirmed his endorsement.

“When you asked me our preference for the next U.S. president, I said we would work with any, but for us, for Russia, Biden was better,” Putin said, according to an English translation from the Kremlin-operated media outlet RT. “Judging by what he said, I was absolutely right.”

Putin continued: “That’s the appropriate reaction to what I said. It’s not like he could say ‘Good job, Volodya, thank you for the helping hand.’ We understand what is going on there, in terms of internal politics.”

The Russian president added that Biden’s insult means he was “right” in saying he backed the Democrat.

“We are ready to work with any president,” Putin said. “But I believe that for us, Biden is a more preferable president for Russia, and judging by what he has just said, I am absolutely right.”

When Putin told Russian state television on February 14 that he preferred Biden in the White House, the comment garnered international attention since many observers assume the Kremlin would want a Trump victory. Not only has Trump made favorable comments about Putin in the past, but the Biden administration has been Kyiv’s biggest supporter in its defense against Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Some people have suggested Putin was employing a psychological tactic to help Trump, and prominent Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov said the endorsement was “a precise calculation” and an “info-bomb.”

Trump, meanwhile, said he considered it a “compliment” that Putin prefers his rival. Speaking at a rally in South Carolina last week, Trump said he wasn’t surprised Putin backs Biden and added it was due to the end of the Nord Stream 2—a Russian pipeline that would double the export of Russian natural gas to Germany—during his time in office.