U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Kremlin is mounting a propaganda campaign to support the former president. Donald Trump Vice President and above Kamala Harris In the presidential election, an intelligence official suggested so at a press conference on Monday.
The official said Iran would likely try to undermine Trump, and that China, while not appearing to give preferential treatment in the presidential election, could try to interfere in the congressional elections.
The call was hosted by the Foreign Malicious Influence Center, one of the few U.S. government agencies that counter foreign propaganda efforts. Agent Alert A statement on foreign propaganda campaigns was released on Monday afternoon.
The official’s comments were the clearest indication yet that the U.S. believes Trump will remain Russia’s preferred candidate even after the election. Joe Biden He dropped out of the race, leaving Harris as the Democratic candidate.
A Russian foreign ministry spokesman did not respond to an email seeking comment. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said at a regular briefing in Beijing on Tuesday that “China has never interfered in U.S. elections and will not do so in the future.”
A spokesman for the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York said: Statement to the Wall Street Journal“Iran has not engaged in any objectives or activities intended to influence U.S. elections,” it said, adding that the accusations were “a psychological operation designed to artificially boost an election campaign.”
The Foreign Malicious Influence Center reports to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the primary clearinghouse for information collected by the U.S. intelligence agencies.
Office of the Director of Intelligence Previously concluded The Russian President Vladimir Putin Russia authorized a large-scale propaganda operation aimed at “denigrating President Biden’s candidacy and the Democratic Party” and “supporting former President Trump” in the 2020 election. According to the report, Russia focused nearly all of its election interference efforts on propaganda, from its 2016 cyber operations to its 2020 election interference.
The 2020 report found that Iran, with the authorization of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, conducted influence operations to undermine Trump’s candidacy. The operation stopped short of supporting Biden or any of his rivals, it said. U.S. officials Iranian operations Before the 2020 election, he stoked partisan tensions by sending threatening emails to Florida Democratic supporters posing as members of the far-right Proud Boys party.
In its comments, the agency avoided naming Trump, Harris or any other specific Americans running in this election. But on a separate call this month, when Biden was still the presumptive Democratic nominee, officials from the Office of the Director of Intelligence said Russia remained the top foreign threat to U.S. elections and that candidate preferences were the same as in 2020.
Officials said Monday that Iran and Russia have continued their online intelligence operations this year, but that their partisan support for the presidential elections has not changed.
The agency issued a public alert Monday afternoon, saying Russia was a “primary threat to U.S. elections” and that “Russian influence actors have engaged in a clear effort during this election to develop and leverage networks of contacts with figures in the U.S. and other Western countries to craft and spread a narrative favorable to Russia.”
The official said on the call that a key issue for the Kremlin in the US presidential election is halting US aid to Ukraine, an issue on which Trump and Harris have sharply differing views.
“Russia’s biggest concern in this election is an opposition candidate who wants more support for Kyiv, and we expect Russia’s focus to remain there,” the official said.
Officials on the call provided few details, saying much of the report came from confidential sources.
The United States has been Ukraine’s largest backer by far since Russia invaded the country in 2022. The US gives more aid to Ukraine than any other countryUkraine receives most of its foreign military funding from the United States.
As vice president, Harris I met repeatedly Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Biden administration Estimated $53.7 billion According to the State Department, the money will be used for military aid.
By contrast, Trump has not committed to continuing the massive aid package to Ukraine. Some of his former administration officials say Publicly proposed A peace plan that includes significant concessions from the country. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, was repeatedly criticized The United States provides military assistance to its allies in general, and he said, “I don’t really care what happens in Ukraine.”
Iran’s opposition to Trump stems from a desire to avoid further escalating tensions with the United States, the officials said.
In 2020, the Trump administration Drone attacks approved The attack on Iran’s key military leader, Qassem Soleimani.
The Secret Service has stepped up security around President Trump in recent weeks following the Iranian assassination attempt, U.S. officials said. He told NBC NewsThe attempt is unrelated to the Pennsylvania shooter who shot Trump at a rally. this month.
Officials from the Office of the Director of Intelligence said much of the Russian online propaganda is conducted through a series of third-party companies posing as marketing firms. They pointed to a case in March when the Treasury Department banned online Russian propaganda. Two such companies The company was accused of running dozens of fake news sites aimed primarily at Western audiences and creating thousands of fake social media accounts to promote them.
It is unclear how much influence these accounts have, or how effective they are at influencing public opinion. Announced last year The company said it had removed the networks from its platform, after the networks allegedly spent about $105,000 on advertising.
Some critics Claimed The U.S. government sometimes exaggerates the threat of foreign propaganda.
“Without more detailed information about specific threats at an unclassified level, governments need to be careful not to foster vague fears of foreign interference,” said Gavin Wild, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “If that’s evidenced primarily by the nefarious intent of adversaries, that’s a bottomless well.” update (Tuesday, July 30, 3:45 a.m. ET): Reporting on comments regarding Iran and China has been added to this article.
