Trump’s words have improved U.S. perception of Russia, Putin — Temple University lecturer

Olena Mishchuk, a lecturer at Temple University (USA), shared this opinion on Espreso TV.

"It all depends on who we're talking about. If these are Trump voters, if these are people who clearly and consistently use TruthSocial and Trump's posts as their main news source, if they rely on Fox News or other openly propagandistic channels — then, obviously, their opinion of Putin has improved a lot compared to a year or two ago, or even earlier. Some of them now believe that Russia could be a strategic and economic partner for the U.S. And they ask, 'What’s the problem?' Some Trump supporters even say, ‘What’s wrong with being friends with a country we’ve been enemies with for so long?’ So for Trump voters and his base, everything Trump says and the way he presents Putin becomes the truth for them," she said.

Olena Mishchuk also pointed out that some Americans who don’t support Trump still support Putin, because Russia is actively funding this support.

"When we talk about Americans who oppose the current administration’s policies, it’s clear they see the situation very differently. They don’t back the administration and they view Russia as an enemy. But we shouldn’t forget that Russia is a country that funds or, let’s say, supports people from all sides — both the far right and the far left. So even among those who don’t support Trump, there are still people who support Putin. I would say that overall, American attitudes toward Russia and Putin have become more positive recently. And clearly, Trump’s rhetoric, his attempts to act like a peacemaker in a war that has nothing to do with him, has had some influence on American public opinion," Mishchuk added.

• U.S. President Donald Trump had a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on June 4 that lasted about 1 hour and 15 minutes.