LOOK: Kremlin Journalist Teases ‘Agent Donald’

Dmitry Smirnov is a correspondent for the Komsomolskaya Pravda, a Russian tabloid newspaper that’s been around, in one form or another, since 1925. Smirnov normally reports on the Kremlin. This weekend, he’s in Paris, covering the gathering of world leaders to commemorate the end of World War I.

Smirnov is a prolific social media user and he’s clearly been enjoying himself over in Paris. His Twitter feed is full of shots of not only Vladimir Putin, but Donald Trump, Emmmanuel Macron, and other heads of state in drizzly Paris — often with snarky captions. Smirnov took a photo of Trump next to German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron, adding the caption, “Never before has agent Donald been so close to failure.”

Smirnov also mocked other attendees at the event. He took a photo of Vladimir Putin speaking to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres — a few seats away from them, you can see Nigeria’s president Mammmadou Buhari. Smirnov added a caption which read, “You do not know why he is at the table in a hat?” – “I don’t even know who it is.”


Most of the Time, Smirnov Just Reports on Putin’s Movements

Smirnov’s job is to report on the Kremlin — which means that his Twitter feed is full of uncritical, straightforward accounts of Vladimir Putin’s movements. Smirnov puts up video of Putin’s proclamations; he also covers every stage of the Russian president’s travels, from the plane he’s going to ride, to the car he’s going to ride in. Smirnov also reports, in extensive detail, on Putin’s meetings with other world leaders.

Smirnov seems to report on his own president with absolute seriousness and save all of his snark for other heads of state. He tweets — with zero snark — about Putin riding the Aurus to Paris. He also puts up video of Putin with cute schoolchildren, laying flowers on a memorial to Russian soldiers who died in World War I. And he posts clips of Putin addressing his interior ministry staff about World War I.

But after all that earnest reporting on Putin’s movements, Smirnov put up a long video clip about how many times Trump and Macron have shaken hands. Evidently, Smirnov saves all his sarcasm for the foreign heads of state:

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