The prominent and favorable coverage by RT of President-elect Donald Trump’s comments during his Dec. 16 Mar-a-Lago press conference, in which he criticized U.S. approval of the use of ATACMS long-range missiles against Russia, is exemplary of the way most Russian media handled the story.
One article is headlined “‘Stupid’ of Biden To Allow Long-Range Strikes on Russia—Trump,” with the kicker “The U.S. president-elect has said that he may reverse the decision once he takes office next month.” RT then quotes Trump: “I don’t think they [the Biden administration] should have allowed missiles to be shot 200 miles into Russia. I don’t think that should have been allowed … and certainly not just weeks before I take over. Why would they do that without asking me what I thought?” RT further quoted Trump: “`I thought it was a very stupid thing to do,’ he continued, adding that he `might’ rescind the authorization once he takes office next month.”
The article then recounts Trump’s earlier comments against the ATACMS use in his Time interview ("I think that is a major escalation. I think it is a foolish decision") and the response from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov that “it is obvious that Trump understands what exactly is escalating the situation around the conflict.”
A second article by RT is headlined “Trump Says He Wants To Talk to Putin.”
