President-elect Donald Trump's social media ravings about seizing Greenland and the Panama Canal have left Russian propagandists "delighted," according to a new report from The Daily Beast's Julia Davis.
Davis, who regularly monitors and translates Russian state television news broadcast, brings word that Kremlin insiders see Trump's belligerence toward American allies as a positive sign that he isn't opposed to Russia's own attempted war of conquest in neighboring Ukraine.
In fact, writes Davis, the view in Russia seems to be that the Kremlin can get Trump to accede to key demands that will strengthen its position going forward.
"Russia’s premier propagandists and experts already believe that Trump can be persuaded to go along with Moscow’s wish listif Putin gets to influence him, tête-à-tête personally," Davis explains. "They are vehemently opposed to the idea of negotiating with retired Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy. The dream scenario that they envision would include legitimizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and recognizing Moscow’s territorial demands."
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Russian state media host Dmitry Kiselyov, for one, openly cheered on Trump's seeming lust for imperial conquest.
"Trump isn’t joking," he insisted. "He is determined to expand American territorial possessions. Personally, I am convinced that he will succeed... Trump gets away with all of this, inspired by his success, he might look at the rest of the globe, focus on vulnerable spots, and keep going. Where will he stop? Doesn’t it mean that others can do the same?"
Another Russian TV host, Vladimir Solovyov, similarly felt enthusiastic about using Trump's prospective wars of expansion to justify further Russian aggression.
"Of course he isn’t joking!" he said, according to Davis. "Do you think I’m kidding when I say that Finland, Warsaw, the Baltics, Moldova, and Tallinn should come back home? Do you think I’m joking? No! They should all rejoin the Russian Empire."