Why the Russians struggle to influence US politics

I want you to think back to 2020, when Trump decided to take General Milley in full dress uniform on a walk to the Church of the Presidents to threaten all the governors to agree to let him send the US military to quell the George Floyd protests.

He took a bible along, waved it, and held it upside down. All of America laughed, wondering why he was brandishing an upside down bible by a tiny church.

Not long before this, Trump was camped out in the White House’s underground bunker, wondering what to do now that DC was filled with protests. Likely, he asked Putin for advice —

Who told him that if you want to cement your authority, do what he does. Go to the main church and be blessed by the sacred object that is the bible. This makes sense in the Russian Orthodox tradition, and Russians took it very seriously when Putin stood before the Patriarch in Moscow.

But the US, of course, has no state church. If you were to imagine that it did, it would be the Church of the Presidents. The one Trump stepped in front of, using the bible like an orthodox sacred object.

So long story short, his attempt to gain legitimacy was stymied by poor cultural understanding on behalf of his handlers.

You can see this again with this coordinated blitz on Biden. In Russia, the national days are intensely political, with the President giving a speech, etc. in their minds, a week long campaign to get Biden to drop out would culminate on July 4th. What they fail to understand is that July 4th is an intensely anti-political holiday, and if you’re looking to make a pressure campaign, the 4th is the worst not the best time on the American calendar.

Why do they make these mistakes? Because they call the shots on these campaigns and don’t actually listen to anyone challenging their cultural assumptions.