Putin claims Donald Trump discussed the Presidential election with him and scolded him for 'sympathizing' with Biden during 2019 meeting saying: 'Do you want sleepy Joe to win?'

Vladimir Putin sensationally claimed in an interview with Russian state TV that Donald Trump 'scolded' him for 'sympathizing' with President Joe Biden back in 2019.

In the wide-ranging interview, in which Putin laid down a threat that his forces are ready to use nuclear weapons should Washington ever decide to put boots on the ground in Ukraine, the autocrat also said his government would not interfere in the US elections. 

'In the last year of his work as president, Mr. Trump, today's presidential candidate, reproached me for sympathizing with (Joe) Biden .... He told me in one of the conversations: you want - sorry, I will say it the way he said it, this is a quote - "Sleepy Joe to win,'' Putin said according to a translation via Reuters. 

'And then, to my surprise, they began to persecute him (Trump) because we allegedly supported him as a candidate. Well, it's some kind of complete nonsense,' Putin continued. 

When asked about Russian hackers interfering in the US election at the behest of the Kremlin, Putin brushed off the the notion. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives an interview to TV host and Director General of Rossiya Segodnya (RIA Novosti) news agency Dmitry Kiselyov at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 12, 2024

Putin said that Trump called Biden 'Sleepy Joe' in their phone call 

Earlier, Putin said in February he would prefer Biden to Trump as U.S. president, saying Biden was more experienced and more predictable

'We do not interfere in any way in any elections. And, as I have said many times, we will work with any leader who is trusted by the American people, the American voter,' he said.    

Putin said Russia would be ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty was threatened.

The Russian leader launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is nearly certain to win the March 15 to 17 presidential election.

Interviewing Putin for RIA state news agency and Rossiya-1 state television was veteran Russian broadcaster Dmitry Kiselyov who has long been accused of running a soapbox news program for the Kremlin. 

Kiselyov, who has been married eight times, is known for his views on traditional relationships and regularly condemns homosexuality once suggesting that the organs of LGBTQ people be burned after their deaths. 

Earlier, Putin said in February he would prefer Biden to Trump as U.S. president, saying Biden was more experienced and more predictable. 

They were rare praise for Biden, a fierce critic of the Russian leader who has frequently lauded Trump.

Putin was speaking to one of his most ardent TV propagandists Dmitry Kiselyov

'Biden, he's more experienced, more predictable, he's a politician of the old formation,' Putin said, when asked which candidate would be better for Russia. 'But we will work with any U.S. leader whom the American people trust.'

Putin's motives for saying Biden is a better choice for Russia were unclear, but the assertion was eyebrow-raising given prior U.S. government assessments of the Russian leader's support for Trump and of Kremlin efforts to tip American elections in his favor.

The apparent endorsement was not welcomed by the White House. Asked during a briefing in February about Putin's remarks, national security spokesman John Kirby responded, 'I think Mr. Putin knows very well what this administration has been doing to counter Russia's malign influence around the world.'

'Mr. Putin should just stay out of our elections,' Kriby added.

Trump, by contrast, immediately hailed the statement at a campaign rally Wednesday night, calling it a 'great compliment' to him.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Putin ordered a hidden campaign to influence the 2016 race in favor of Trump over Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton, with Russian operatives hacking Democratic emails and facilitating their release in the run-up to the election. 

More recently, intelligence agencies concluded that Putin had authorized influence operations in the 2020 election aimed at denigrating Biden, boosting Trump, undermining confidence in the vote and exacerbating social divisions in the U.S.

Trump and Putin, who have frequently praised each other in the past, have dismissed such findings.

Putin did also blast the White House's policy toward Russia, describing it as 'badly flawed and wrong.'