Russia's Election Results, Trump's Campaign Rhetoric, Harris On The Trail

Can't say I'm surprised. Russia's Electoral Commission says Vladimir Putin won yet another term as president.

Afterwards, for the first time, he addressed the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin and this is up first from NPR News.

You see the spirit from the hostages, and that's what they are is hostages.

We'll put some of that rhetoric into context and explain why his words matter.

And two voter concerns about Vice President Kamala Harris. As she campaigns for President Biden, his age and her readiness. She's tethered to him, for better or for worse. Stay with us, We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

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Eighty-seven percent. Russia's Electoral Commission says that's how much of the vote Vladimir Putin won, giving him another six-year term as president.

Well, that's what they say. Putin is thanking citizens of his country for their support and trust after Russia's three-day presidential election ended. Western countries and Russia's opposition are saying the vote was neither free nor fair, particularly since Putin's chief political opponent is dead.

NPR's Charles Mance has been following the election from Moscow and he is with us now to tell us more about it. Good morning Charles.

Good morning.

So I understand that. Putin held a late-night press conference after the vote. What did he say?

Yeah, you know, going into this election, it was clear the Kremlin sought not just this massive victory, but a historic turnout. One that would show that Russians were united behind Putin despite more than two years of war in Ukraine. And speaking last night, Putin took a victory lap. He rejected charges the elections were undemocratic and said Russians had rallied behind him when confronted by threats from Ukraine and a hostile West. Let's listen.

I understood that. Putin finally addressed the death of Alexei Navalny. That's, of course, the Russian opposition leader who died in a remote prison colony last month. What do you say about that?

Yeah, he did, you know, even saying Navalny's name, something that Putin very rarely does? Putin called Navalny's death a sad event, but something that happens in prisons. He also confirmed press reports that he had signed off on a prisoner swap that would have freed Navalny on the condition. Putin said that the opposition leader never returned to Russia, but Putin said, Unfortunately, Navalny died before the deal went through, calling it that's life.

So, turning back to the vote itself, do you have a sense of what Russians think of the result? And also other countries?

Well, you know, it's been kind of a split screen experience, depending on your politics, you know. There are certainly Russians, many of them older, who say Putin won because he's the best candidate, he's a strong leader. But they choose to ignore, of course, fellow citizens who say that. This race took place in a repressive environment, with state in control of media and only hand-chosen rival candidates allowed to run. Meanwhile, internationally, there are all these divisions, you know, Western countries condemn the vote. Election monitoring groups have raised a host of concerns over vote rigging to give Putin this record landslide. And yet Russia will say it has plenty of friends out there. Powerful nations like China congratulated Putin on his win, and so did North Korea.

That is NPR's Charles Mainz in Moscow, Charles, thank you.

Thank you.

Former President Donald Trump's campaign rhetoric is making news again, and it's not because of some big policy idea.

It's for his words at a campaign rally, which we will hear and discuss. Trump spoke near Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend. And this is the way he described people who went to prison for attacking the United States Capitol in 2021..

You see the spirit from the hostages, and that's what they are is hostages.

Trump often repeats a story about other countries emptying their prisons to send people to the United States. His campaign has never been able to name such a country, but Trump talked about the people he imagined coming.

If you call them people, I don't know if you call them people, in some cases, they're not people in my opinion.

He also repeated a campaign promise focused on asylum seekers and people in this country illegally.

We're going to get them out fast, we're going to have the largest deportation effort in history.

Those are the kinds of remarks Trump makes at rally after rally over the weekend. He also said something about a bloodbath.

NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro is with us now to talk more about this. Good morning Domenico. Hey there, Domenico. Let's start with that bloodbath remark. What did it mean and why do you think it got so much attention?

Well, so Trump was talking about China potentially opening car plants in Mexico and then trying to sell those cars in the United States. Let's take a listen to part of what he said.

We're going to put a 100 tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you're not going to be able to sell those cars.

If I get elected.

Now if I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole. That's going to be the least of it, It's going to be a bloodbath for the country, that'll be the least of it.

It's pretty clear he was talking about the auto industry and his campaign, clarified to say as much in a statement after the event. But this is what Trump does, he throws out this kind of violent, graphic language. He knows it's going to get a rise out of people, especially on the left, and generate headlines. Then he can wave his hand and blame the media for creating some false narrative. But while many are litigating, what he meant by those comments going less noticed in the same rally as Trump. Standing there and saluting January 6th rioters, calling them hostages and patriots and saying their prosecutions are a disgrace.

I understand. Trump also said something this weekend about reproductive rights that's getting a lot of attention, specifically about the possibility of a federal ban. What was that?

Yeah. In an interview with Fox News Howard Kurtz this weekend, Trump also said that he was thinking about proposing a federal ban after 16 weeks for abortions as something of a middle ground, he said. But he also praised the Supreme Court's highly unpopular decision to overturn Roe.

Look, a lot of things were done with Roe. By killing it number one, we brought it back to the states.

Which was, of course, your injustices to the Supreme Court that made that possible.

They did, and, you know, they did something that, from a lot of standpoints, is extremely good.

You know, the practical results, obviously, of overturning Roe has meant that states have passed extremely restrictive laws banning abortion. That's put Republicans on the defensive in election after election since the Dobbs ruling two years ago, as Trump himself acknowledged. But given his appointments to the court, are the reason for overturning Roe. It's going to be hard for him to get out of the same box his party has been in. And Democrats are happy to remind people of that, promising to spend millions of dollars on ads and hoping they can mobilize voters that they so desperately need.

OK, in the time we have left, let's talk about the Democrats. They do need to start moving voters in President Biden's direction. How's that going?

He's got a lot of work to do, I mean, he's behind in swing states and an average of the polls. His approval rating right now is lower at this point than any president seeking reelection in the past 50 years or more. And he's fighting a two front battle, one from Trump and one from third party threats. It's all making for a lot of tension among Democrats, who can't understand why. With comments like Trump is making and the policies he's proposing, that more voters at this point don't see Trump as more of an urgent threat.

That is NPR's Domenico, Montanaro, Domenico, thank you.

You're welcome.

Sticking with the Democrats now, Vice President Kamala Harris is also facing a lot of scrutiny this election year.

She'll be on the ballot this fall alongside President Biden, and she's making high profile campaign stops. Last week, in Minnesota, Harris toured a clinic that provides abortions, which is believed to be a first for any president or vice president. And on Saturday, she will walk the halls of the high school in Parkland, Florida, that was the site of a mass shooting in 2018..

NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid is with us now to tell us more about that. Good morning Asma.

Good morning.

So talk about the vice president out on the trail. What's she been up to?

Well, she's been out a lot more than two dozen trips just this year, you know, one of her primary jobs this campaign season is to travel the country. For Biden, that's what Jim Messina told me. He ran Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign.

The vice president serves as the president's chief surrogate, especially in the battleground states. What I learned when I ran President Obama's campaign is that, you know, the president has a day job. Crises has come up and they just cannot campaign as much as their opponent.

And so, in steps, the vice president.

So in talking about issues like abortion rights and like gun violence prevention, which is obviously the focus in visiting Parkland, who is she trying to reach?

She's trying to energize the base of the Democratic Party. The Biden campaign believes that Harris has a unique demographic appeal. Take a listen to Harris's chief of staff for the campaign, Sheila Nix.

She's really been mobilizing a lot of the voters that we need, you know, especially.

In the Biden-Harris coalition, like young people, women, voters of color.

And Michelle, you know, this is something I hear from a lot of people. The thing is that both Harris and Biden, though, broadly have low poll numbers, Terrence Woodbury polls voters of color. And he told me that since 2020, Harris's approval rating has largely been tethered to the president, for good or for bad. One thing, though, that he has noticed, is that she seems to be overwhelmingly popular with super voters.

And also, we've talked a lot about voters concerns about Biden's age on this program and a lot of media outlets. Although I do have to point out again, he's only four years older than his opponent Donald Trump, but he's 81. The argument is he's too old for a second term, according to some. How does that affect Harris as she's out campaigning?

Yeah, you know, Michelle, it is the underlying subtext to everything, and so, you know how she navigates. Somewhat polarizing issues, whether that's the war in the Middle East or issues like immigration, I would say, matter more than normal. Because she is running alongside the oldest president in American history, and so if something happens to him, she'd take his place. She has said that she's ready. But it's not just about saying it, it is about convincing people that that is true. Without actually having the power to set the policies that she's talking about.

That is NPR's Asmaa Holland, Asmaa, thank you.

Always good to talk to you.

And that's a first for Monday, March 18th. I'm Michelle Martin.

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Today's Up First was edited by Nick Spicer, Dana Farrington, Roberta Rampton, Alice Wolfley and Ben Adler. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Ben Abrams and Taylor Haney. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott, and our technical director is Zach Pullman. Join us tomorrow.

Your next lesson is consider this from NPR. Now that Vladimir Putin has won another six year term as president, he could overtake Stalin as Russia's longest serving leader. How might Putin's victory affect Russia's war in Ukraine? Listen to consider this wherever you get your podcasts.