US TV Host Mocked for Tweeting That Russia Is a Communist State

No nation on planet Earth can avoid the annoyance of being judged by myths and stereotypes. Russians are just as used to being portrayed in the West as bear owners with vodka in their blood as East Indians are used to the role of snake charmers ready to burst into song and dance at any time. But there's a thin line between stereotypes and distortion of facts that more and more influential people tend to ignore.

The US national correspondent at MSNBC, Joy Reid, apparently believes that modern Russia is a communist state and shares the information with her followers on social media, although it has been more than twenty years since the collapse of the Soviet Union.    

On Friday Joy Reid published a series of tweets in which she noted how the current GOP candidate's strong personality made pro-Russian sentiments normal ‘in the party of Reagan', the man who took a strong stand against communism around the globe. Only, Russia isn't communist anymore, and Reid apparently missed the news.   

"For most Americans it's shocking to see an American presidential candidate openly touting authoritarian, communist Russia," one of her tweets read, while in another Reid referred to the President of Russia as "Comrade Vladimir".

Twitter immediately exploded with posts either mocking Reid's choice of words or directly accusing the correspondent of intentionally using anachronisms to demonize Russia.

​Normalization with Russia has been part of Trump's campaign since the beginning, and the Republican candidate repeatedly said it would be one of the key elements for his presidency.