Russian Facebook VKontakte on fire as thousands of users accuse Trump of having dementia, call him a clown

Donald Trump's criticism of Vladimir Putin has sparked outrage online, but not among Americans. Following Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, ties between the United States and Russia became extremely strained; however, they improved after Donald Trump took office in January.

The president of the United States has advocated for a ceasefire and urged his Russian counterpart to put an end to the conflict.

After Donald Trump slammed Vladimir Putin for "killing a lot of people" in Ukraine, thousands of Russian-linked VKontakte accounts flooded with mocking posts.

Thousands of posts on VKontakte, a Russian Facebook-like platform, have turned against Donald Trump, calling him a clown and accusing him of dementia.

It represents a significant shift from earlier pro-Kremlin neutrality. According to insiders, Donald Trump's abrupt shift in tone may have rattled Moscow even more than it appears, as per reports.

What did Donald Trump say about Putin?

Donald Trump reacted angrily to Russia's weekend bombardment of Ukraine with missiles and drones, which Putin's military has been doing since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Since Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday that Putin had gone "absolutely CRAZY!" and was "needlessly killing a lot of people" in Ukraine, nearly 1,000 negative posts about Trump have appeared on the Russian social media site VKontakte, as per a report by Newsweek.

Donald Trump claimed that Putin "needlessly" killed a lot of people because "something has happened" to him. "And I'm not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever," he added.

According to a report published on Tuesday by Agentstvo, an independent investigative Russian news outlet, the accounts, which are "in the interests of the Kremlin," have called Trump a "clown.”

Why are Russian bots turning on Donald Trump?

After President Trump criticized Putin on Sunday, pro-Kremlin bots stopped being neutral in their remarks about him, according to a spokesperson for the bot-tracking project Botnadzor.

Donald Trump's comments about Putin were minimized by the Kremlin, but pro-Kremlin bots have begun smearing the American president.

Putin may not be happy with Trump's abrupt change in tone, according to the online attacks, even though the U.S. president recently said their most recent phone conversation went "very well," as per a report by Newsweek.

Trump was accused of "acting like a child" and "getting so mad early in the morning, as if he wasn't given what he wanted" in the Russian bots' comments.

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How are individuals reacting?

"He's really lost his mind" and "wants to sit on two chairs" a Russian expression for attempting to play both sides, were other statements.

One bot wrote, "Trump is the one who has lost his mind, not Putin. It seems that dementia, along with the presidential chair, is a genetic gift for every American president.

While one bot called Trump a "showman," another called him a "clown."

"What can you expect from a clown who threatens Russia instead of taking care of his own country?" wrote another.

According to Agentstvo, pro-Kremlin trolls had previously been noticeably quiet when discussing Trump, sticking to neutral or cautious language.

Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, dismissed Trump's comments on Monday as the result of "emotional overstrain."

FAQs

Why are Russian bots attacking President Trump?
Since he harshly criticized Putin's actions in Ukraine, labeling him "crazy" and accusing him of killing civilians.

What kinds of things do they post?
Bots refer to Trump as a "clown," accuse him of dementia, and mock his emotional outbursts.