US Elections in Serbian media: Trump is a peacemaker, Kamala a synonym for new wars
America has not yet decided, everyone is watching the swing states and waiting for the outcome of the presidential elections. Belgrade, at least officially, has not supported either the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, or the Republican candidate, Donald Trump. The media were more decisive – in their biased reporting they gave more space to Trump and presented him in a significantly more positive light than Harris. Portrayed mostly through quotes from her opponent and people who support him, Kamala Harris is described in domestic headlines as “incompetent”, “a political mascot for the Democrats”, supported by the “deep state” and a vote for her is simultaneously “a vote for war”. On the other hand, Trump is a leader who stops wars, and his victory is “hope for peace in Ukraine”. The same narratives dominated in both Serbian and Russian media.
Kamala is “mentally disturbed” and “incompetent”
The media widely reported that Donald Trump is “clear” and “ruthless” while stating that US Vice President Kamala Harris is a “mental invalid”, meaning she has “serious mental problems”. Such headlines were prominent in the first days after outgoing US President Joseph Biden withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed Harris. At the forefront were assessments from her political opponents, describing Kamala as “incompetent”, “not very bright”, and “an evil person who drains the soul”. Similar to Russian portals, mainstream media also quoted Trump describing her as “terrible, even worse than Biden”. In the last month of the campaign, domestic portals witnessed headlines questioning the capability of the Biden administration. For instance, Informer, quoting the Republican candidate for the US Congress’s lower house Lavern Spicer, published an article titled – “Where are Biden and Kamala, what is happening?! While a hurricane was devastating America, they were dealing with Ukraine and Zelensky?!” Novosti, Republika, and Alo! similarly conveyed Trump’s message that the “world is on fire”, the US “lacks leadership” since it is governed by “nonexistent President Joe Biden and completely absent Vice President Kamala Harris”.
A vote for Kamala is a vote for war, the “deep state” watch her back
“Kamala will lead America to war” is just one of the headlines presenting the Democratic candidate to the domestic public. In an article with this headline, Alo! cited statements from right-wing conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec in an interview with Tucker Carlson. Other texts with similar manipulative narratives include “warnings” from Donald Trump that a “vote for Harris is a vote for war with Russia”, and that she will cause “World War III”. Some media particularly highlighted Trump’s message that Biden, Kamala, and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy “will not be satisfied until they send American children to Ukraine, and that is what they are trying to do”. The negative portrayal of Kamala Harris was also aided by the narrative that the “deep state” supports her. On the Russian portal Sputnik Serbia, Biden’s withdrawal was called a “deep state farce”. The Informer conveyed the same assessment, highlighting later that the “deep state is trying to pave the way for Kamala Harris”. Conveying the views of the Republican candidate’s team, Alo! noted that the “deep state is against Trump, supports Harris”.
Trump will end the war in Ukraine
Unlike Kamala Harris, the Republican candidate in the headlines of domestic portals is someone who will “stop” the war in Ukraine. The media found support for this narrative in Trump’s statement that the war in Ukraine would “end quickly” if he were president, and that there would have been no war had he been the head of the White House. The portrait of Trump as the “hope” for peace in Ukraine was formed through statements by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, but also Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who noted that with Trump, the chances of ending the conflict are “significantly greater” than if Harris were chosen. Such evaluations by Fico were also featured in domestic and Russian portals in Serbia. Some actors in Serbia tie the end of the war in Ukraine with Trump’s return to the White House. Ljiljana Smajlović, a journalist and author of the show “Relativization”, airing on RT Balkan, stood out, stating that Trump would look to “end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible” and that it would be “better” for Serbia if the US president were “someone who does not start new wars”.
Trump under attack by Democrats and the “deep state”
In July, after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the media in Serbia propagated narratives that the attack was orchestrated by the “deep state”. These manipulations, based on fabricated claims, were visible in headlines such as – “Bullet in Trump because of Putin! The ‘Deep State’ does not want peace!” and “The deep state programmed Crooks to kill Trump!” During the continuation of the campaign, the RT Balkan portal equated the indictment against Trump with the readiness of the “American deep state” to “go all the way”. With another assassination attempt on the Republican candidate in mid-September, headlines on the portals also included that the “deep state does not sleep” and that “liquidation” represents an “insurance policy against Trump”. At that time, Donald Trump’s accusation that the rhetoric of Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris “encourages people to shoot” at him reached the domestic media. The same narrative accusing political opponents of demonization was also present in domestic media following the Pennsylvania shooting. State officials and media in Serbia used this event to portray Trump, Orban, Fico, but also Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić as “freedom-loving leaders” who “think differently” and therefore become “targets” of the opposition and “falsely liberal elites”.
Who thinks differently?
Although to a significantly lesser extent and only on the margins of the section on American elections, the media also conveyed some statements from Democrats – US President Joseph Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. In these articles, portals noted that Biden calls Trump a “threat to democracy”, Obama calls him a “crazy conspiracy theorist”, conveyed that Kamala Harris “fiercely called out” Trump claiming he “divides the nation and spreads fear”, and that Michelle Obama “accused him of immense incompetence and amoral character”.
“Most citizens of Serbia root for Donald Trump”
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, did not publicly side with either the Democrats or the Republicans. He stated that “one who deals with politics and decision-making must overlook this and must not relate to it in such a manner”. He frequently commented on the campaign; after Kamala Harris entered the race, he predicted that her campaign would actually be led by Michelle Obama. During one appearance on TV Pink, he stated:
“What he (Elon Musk) is saying is not naive, and these are things that, whoever wins, however they win, will remain recorded. He says that if Trump does not win, we will no longer have elections as such, there will no longer be freedom of speech and everything else”.
As reported by the media, the president was significantly more specific while speaking about whom the citizens of Serbia support.
“Most citizens of Serbia root for Donald Trump, mainly for emotional reasons. Both of them have strong and good campaigns, even one of Trump’s biggest opponents, Joe Rogan, switched to his side, which is a big step”, Vučić noted.
There were also those who clearly decided, as was the case with the leader of the Serbian Radical Party, Vojislav Šešelj. He told Informer that the Balkans would “drastically change” if Trump comes to power and added with a reference to his previous term:
“Now we are interested in the outcome of the American elections because this administration is anti-Serbian, while it was bearable with Trump”.