Rudy Giuliani Appears On Kremlin-Backed Television Network On Election Day To Attack Joe Biden
Rudy Giuliani made an appearance on the Kremlin-backed RT news network on Election Day, launching attacks against Joe Biden and taking part in what a report called a “Russian disinformation campaign” against the Democratic candidate.
As The Daily Beast reported, the former New York mayor and personal lawyer for Donald Trump made an appearance on RT’s Going Underground on Tuesday morning, making a number of unfounded claims against Biden. The news outlet, formerly known as Russia Today, is backed by Russia’s government. As NPR noted, a 2017 report from American intelligence agencies stated that the network is included in Russia’s “state-run propaganda machine” and was part of the country’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election by serving as a platform for Kremlin messaging.
“During the chat, Giuliani furthered a Russian disinformation campaign to make false claims about Joe Biden’s health, namely that he’s ‘suffering from dementia.’ Giuliani also repeated his discredited attacks on Hunter Biden—a story that Russian state media has been keen to keep going in the face of disinterest from legitimate news outlets around the world,” The Daily Beast noted.
‘Joe Biden used his son in the most horrible way – as a bag man’ – @RudyGiuliani interview with RT on day of election#Elections2020 pic.twitter.com/XtSobpZwO8
— RT (@RT_com) November 3, 2020
Giuliani has garnered controversy for his role in pushing forward allegations against Hunter Biden. The New York Post published information reportedly obtained by Giuliani that was found in a laptop connected to Hunter Biden, a device that was allegedly left at a Delaware computer shop and never picked up. The outlet claimed that emails showed him using his father’s position as vice president to further his own business interests and contained lurid video and photos. A number of Trump allies have repeated the claims along with other new allegations.
Critics have blasted the report as disinformation, noting that Giuliani had not proven the authenticity of the alleged information from the laptop. Joe Biden has denied the allegations, and the claims do not appear to have boosted the president’s standing in polls as he remained behind Biden both nationally and in a series of key battleground states ahead of Election Day.
This is the second time in a matter of days that a top Trump ally has come under fire for appearing on the Kremlin-backed media outlet. As NPR noted, coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas appeared on RT last weekend and downplayed the severity of the recent surge of the virus, saying that lockdown measures are not effective. He later issued an apology, saying he was not aware that the network was registered as a foreign agent.
