As the summer got underway, senior U.S. intelligence officials told reporters that the Russian government had launched a “whole of government” effort to influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. The Kremlin’s goal, not surprisingly, was to help return Donald Trump to power.
As the summer ended, senior U.S. intelligence officials held another media briefing, highlighting the same problem. The Washington Post published a report noting that a senior official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had explained that Russia’s activities “are more sophisticated than in prior election cycles,” with the Kremlin relying on “authentic U.S. voices” to “launder” Russian government propaganda and spread socially divisive narratives.
All of these tactics, the report added, are intended to “shape the outcome in favor of former president Donald Trump.”
As Election Day nears, and Russian efforts intensify, U.S. intelligence agencies are again ringing the alarm. NBC News reported, for example, that U.S. officials exposed a smear campaign against Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, which apparently originated from a Kremlin-linked propaganda outlet.
U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Russia is continuing to work to benefit Trump’s campaign, including by circulating a false story about Harris’ running mate. “Based on newly available intelligence … the IC assesses that Russian influence actors manufactured and amplified inauthentic content claiming illegal activity committed by the Democratic vice-presidential candidate during his earlier career,” the assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence says.
The U.S. intelligence agencies, NBC News added, are also “increasingly confident that Russian actors are considering — and in some cases implementing — a broad range of influence efforts timed with the election. Some of these are aimed at inciting violence and calling into question the validity of democracy as a political system, regardless of who wins. Others are aimed at amplifying false information and conspiracies—that may exacerbate post-election tensions in the United States.”
Broadly speaking, there are a few angles to this that are worth keeping in mind.
First, Trump and his political operation have made no public efforts to denounce Russian intervention in the American political process. It’s tempting to think they might at least keep up appearances, and pretend to be outraged, but so far, the GOP ticket hasn’t even bothered.
On the contrary, the more his own country tries to combat Russian misconduct, the more Trump suggests Russia is a victim of an American “scam.”
Second, it’s worth appreciating why Moscow appears to be working so hard to benefit the Republican candidate. It might have something to do with Trump’s willingness to echo Vladimir Putin’s talking points, including the former president’s recent suggestion that Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s invasion.
And third, the familiarity of the circumstances is striking:
In 2016, Russia targeted U.S. elections. There used to be a bipartisan consensus on this obvious and uncontested fact.
In 2018, Russia targeted U.S. elections. Though Trump, for reasons that have never been explained, rejected his own country’s intelligence on the matter, the United States’ top national security officials made it categorically clear that Russia took deliberate steps to interfere in the midterm cycle. In 2020, Russia targeted U.S. elections. In fact, intelligence officials told Congress about the evidence showing that Russia was interfering in the 2020 campaign for the express purpose of trying to secure a second term for Trump. In 2022, Russia targeted U.S. elections. In fact, The Wall Street Journal reported last year: “The Russian government and its proxies attempted to denigrate the Democratic Party and undermine voter confidence ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.” And in 2024, Russia is once against targeting U.S. elections — as Trump tells the public that his alleged secret post-presidency chats with Putin deserve to be seen as “a smart thing.” The pattern isn’t exactly subtle. Of course, as Rachel has explained on the show, one of the most important differences between the Kremlin’s latest efforts and the Putin regime’s earlier intelligence operations is that many Republican officials no longer bother with the pretense that Russian intervention is a problem. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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