Fact Check

Did Putin Say He Preferred Biden to Trump in the 2024 US Presidential Election?

"But we will work with any U.S. president who the American people have confidence in," Putin said, grinning.

Published Feb. 15, 2024

 (Kremlin.ru)
Image courtesy of Kremlin.ru
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Claim:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he preferred Joe Biden to Donald Trump in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

On Feb. 14, 2024, a clip of Russian president Vladimir Putin stating that he would prefer U.S. President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump to win the 2024 presidential election went viral, leading Donald Trump Jr. to proclaim on X (formerly Twitter) that Putin "said the quiet part out loud." 

 

It is factual that Putin made this statement to Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin in a video released on Feb. 14, 2024. 

As reported by Reuters: 

Putin was asked by interviewer Pavel Zarubin who was "better for us" out of Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican. 

Putin replied without hesitation: "Biden. He is a more experienced, predictable person, a politician of the old school."

Smiling slightly, he added: "But we will work with any U.S. president who the American people have confidence in."

It was the first public comment made by Putin on the 2024 U.S. presidential election, according to the outlet. Because Putin did make this statement, we rate this claim as "True." 

Article 65 of 87 in Collection

Sources

Putin Says He Prefers Biden over Trump. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xGx9ytCqaE.

Trevelyan, Mark. "Putin Says He Prefers 'more Predictable' Biden over Trump." Reuters, 15 Feb. 2024. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/putin-says-he-prefers-more-predictable-biden-over-trump-2024-02-14/.
 

Alex Kasprak is an investigative journalist and science writer reporting on scientific misinformation, online fraud, and financial crime.