MOSCOW

NEWS THAT RUSSIAN president Vladimir Putin had endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the top job in Washington, had pundits scratching their heads until a Russian reporter asked the Kremlin strongman to explain his reasons.

“The Russian President smiled, broadly, then slapped the reporter on the head very gently and told him to take a good look at California, where Ms Harris was a prosecutor and representative politician for many years,” said a diplomat who was present at the time. “Then he whispered, loud enough for all to hear: ‘Comrade’. Both men began to laugh. Then the whole room began to laugh. Then the whole of the Kremlin.”

It had been thought that Putin had a special interest in Donald Trump getting back into the White House, given the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election. His support for Harris came as something of a shock to Trump fans, and an embarrassment to the US intelligence community.