Velshi begins now.

All right. Good morning. It is Sunday, March 17th. Happy St. Patrick's Day. I'm Ali Velshi.

2024 has been dubbed the year of elections. Citizens of many countries will head to the polls this year,

including in eight of the ten most

populous nations in the world. But some of those elections are less legitimate than others,

and one of them is happening right now. At some point today, we're going to get the results

of Russia's presidential election. It's a real nail-biter. Vladimir Putin is facing off against three nobodies

who barely even campaigned against him. In reality, it's a foregone conclusion. Even though you may

see images like this of people casting ballots at polling stations in Russia this weekend, the choice

has already been made for them. The government previously disqualified a pair of opposition candidates,

and those who remain on the ballot pose no actual threat to the Russian president. Putin will,

quote unquote, win a fifth term in office and run the country for another six years.

Vladimir Putin's Russia is an autocracy dressed up to appear like a democracy. That's why it's so troubling

that Donald Trump, who's now the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee, has openly

admired the Russian president for many years. Shortly after Putin won his last election in

2018, then President Trump was given briefing notes ahead of a call with the Russian

president. It was from Trump's own national security advisors, and in one section, they wrote in all

caps, quote, do not congratulate. But of course, Trump picked up the phone and congratulated Putin

for winning his fake election anyway.

There were plenty of reasons not to congratulate the Russian president then.

The American government had just blamed Moscow for poisoning a former Russian spy on British soil,

which Trump neglected to condemn during that same call.

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