Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, received a surprising and likely unwanted endorsement of her candidacy this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to endorse Harris as his preference to be the next elected leader of the U.S. instead of her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, according to USA Today.

The endorsement, which appeared to be made in a joking manner, sparked immediate debate over whether it was a genuine expression of his preference or was instead intended as a trolling move that hid ulterior motivations.

Putin appears to endorse Harris over Trump

Newsweek reported that just hours after the Biden-Harris administration once again accused Russia of attempting to interfere in U.S. elections, Russian President Putin made his remarks about the two leading contenders for the White House while speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

"I told you our 'favorite,' if you can call it that, was President Biden," Putin said with a slight grin. "He's now out of the race, but he asked his supporters to back Ms. Harris, so we'll do the same."

"The choice is ultimately up to the American people, and we will respect that decision," he continued. "Favorites aren't for us to decide -- it's the American people's choice."

Putin said of VP Harris, "She laughs so expressively and infectiously that she must be doing well," but a moment later contrasted her with former President Trump, whom he said "imposed more restrictions and sanctions on Russia than any president before. If Ms. Harris is doing well, maybe she'll avoid actions like that."

Newsweek noted that the Russian president had previously endorsed President Biden as his preference over Trump because Biden was more of an "old school" politician with "more experience" who was also "more predictable" in his actions than the GOP nominee.

Putin's Harris endorsement may be intended as "poisonous" to her candidacy

According to an analysis from CNN, Putin's remarks about Harris and Trump were likely little more than his "stirring the pot of U.S. domestic politics" to foment more chaos and partisan division among Americans, much as he's done previously in the 2016 and 2020 elections, when he publicly expressed his support for Trump and then Biden, respectively.

It was further noted that, according to an exiled Russian political journalist, Mikhail Zygar, one of Putin's favorite TV shows was "House of Cards" and its darkly cynical view of politics in Washington D.C.

In that case, much like the ever-scheming main character Frank Underwood, Putin's endorsement of Harris was intended to have the opposite effect and be "poisonous to its recipient."

That view was echoed by BBC Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg, according to Newsweek, who said the Russians would "know very well" that a public endorsement of a U.S. candidate would hurt rather than help them, which is "probably why they previously backed Joe Biden and are now endorsing Kamala Harris."

Putin may view Harris as more easy to "manipulate" than Trump

On the other hand, Fox News reported that former Defense Intelligence official Rebekah Koffler, who wrote a book about Putin, suggested that "When it comes to preference, Putin and his regime prefer Kamala to deal with as a future U.S. president. Putin believes that he can manipulate Harris easily, unlike Trump, whom the Russians profiled as unpredictable and difficult to read."

"By issuing these statements, the Russians are just messing with us, specifically with the Harris team," she added. "It’s a classic influence operation to unbalance your adversary by mocking, teasing, and pleasing them, or rather appearing to please."