Russian President Vladimir Putin just weighed in on the upcoming U.S. presidential election and appeared to humorously signal which of the two major candidates he would prefer to see in the White House for the next four years.

Putin suggested that he would rather see Vice President Kamala Harris in charge instead of former President Donald Trump, according to Fox News.

The Russian president's apparent endorsement was seemingly made in a joking manner and it is unclear if he genuinely would prefer to face off against Harris over Trump or was subversively trolling the two nominees, as legitimate arguments can be made for him backing either candidate.

Putin appears to endorse Harris

President Putin was speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Thursday, according to Newsweek, when he revealed that his "favorite" U.S. presidential candidate had been incumbent President Joe Biden, who ended his bid for re-election in July amid internal pressure from his own Democratic Party.

"I told you our favorite, if you can call it that, was President Biden," Putin said with a smile. "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."

Of VP Harris, Putin said, "She laughs so expressively and infectiously that she must be doing well." In contrast, the Russian president said of the former Republican president, "Trump 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 in July, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of Harris, "We can't yet assess her potential impact on our bilateral relations. So far, her role has neither been positive nor negative." It was also noted that Putin previously said in February that Biden was "more experienced, more predictable" than Trump and that he was "a politician of the old school, but we'll work with any U.S. leader trusted by the American people."

Putin may genuinely prefer Harris over Trump but could just be trolling

To be sure, this supposed "endorsement" from Russian President Putin can be interpreted in multiple ways, as there are valid reasons why he might prefer one candidate over the other.

"When it comes to preference, Putin and his regime prefer Kamala to deal with as a future U.S. president," former Defense Intelligence official Rebekah Koffler, who wrote a book about Putin, told Fox News. "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."

Yet, it is also quite possible that Putin was just "trolling" Harris and the Democrats, as Newsweek reported that the BBC's Russia Editor, Steve Rosenberg, opined that Putin would "know very well" that his endorsement would hurt rather than help the targeted U.S. candidate, which is likely why he "previously backed Joe Biden and are now endorsing Kamala Harris."

"I don't know if I'm insulted or he did me a favor"

As for former President Trump, Raw Story reported that the GOP nominee joked about the apparent endorsement of his Democratic rival while speaking at the Economic Club in New York, and said, "Putin came out today, he endorsed Kamala, and I didn't know, was I supposed to call him up and say, thank you very much, I appreciate it."

"But he endorsed Kamala. I have a feeling, I don't know, I don't know exactly what to say about that," Trump jokingly added. "I don't know if I'm insulted or he did me a favor."