Daily Beast reporter Julia Davis shared part of a TASS Russian News Agency article that quotes Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s aide Nikolay Patrushev saying that “to achieve success in the election, Donald Trump relied on certain forces to which he has corresponding obligations. As a responsible person, he will be obliged to fulfill them.”
The question being asked is who are these “forces”? Are they the citizens who voted for Trump, as some MAGA adherents assert in the comments? Because then Patrushev’s comment merely implies Trump’s legitimate response to voter concerns.
Or are these “forces” — as others believe — nefarious foreign interests who helped enable Trump’s victory through a rampant online disinformation campaign?
The latter interpretation focuses on the part of the Trump campaign strategy that included creating and sustaining rightwing information bubbles and overwhelming these media ecosystems with alternative narratives.
Meanwhile in Russia: Putin’s presidential aide Nikolay Patrushev said, “To achieve success in the election, Donald Trump relied on certain forces to which he has corresponding obligations. As a responsible person, he will be obliged to fulfill them.” pic.twitter.com/Z9yrL7SOEt
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) November 11, 2024
[NOTE: Any doubt on this strategy’s use is easily dispelled by what Trump’s top strategist Steve Bannon told journalist Michael Lewis in 2018: “The Democrats don’t matter. The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with [expletive].”
American intelligence agencies have already determined that Russia worked to help Trump’s campaign, as it had in the past. However, there has been no direct proof of collusion between Trump and Russia — not by the Trump-maligned Mueller Report, nor since.
Still, Patrushev’s comment stirs up anxiety among those who believe that Trump may owe to forces who aren’t red state voters, but instead foreign actors.
So we refer to “the electorate” as “certain forces” now? That’s kind of weird and also wouldn’t even need to be said in the first place because in any normal election that would be a given.
— Kitchie G North of the wall (@TrippettaRaffe) November 12, 2024
In Trump’s defense, a Trump supporter and true believer asserts that Patrushev was merely talking about the debt Trump owes to the American voters — that these are the “forces” he owes, not Russia and Putin for their help.
Exactly. I couldn’t be more excited to see him fulfill those obligations, as any responsible leader should do!
Let’s be clear: the “forces” Patrushev refers to are not some shadowy international actors; they’re the American people who voted for Donald Trump because he promised…
— We are in·di·vis·i·ble! (@in_di_vis_i_ble) November 12, 2024
One snarky commenter, recognizing the multiple bankruptcies of Trump-run businesses, asserted that even if Putin thinks he has Trump trapped in a quid pro quo, he may have picked the wrong target.
There are also the inevitable comments that assert that everything menacing in the world is only done, or suggested, to trigger liberal panic, rendering any reaction or concern and overreaction and making legitimate argument impossible.
So we refer to “the electorate” as “certain forces” now? That’s kind of weird and also wouldn’t even need to be said in the first place because in any normal election that would be a given.
— Kitchie G North of the wall (@TrippettaRaffe) November 12, 2024