The US intelligence community has once again sounded the alarm on Russia's efforts to interfere in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. In a briefing to reporters, a senior official from the ODNI stated that Moscow still favors Trump as its preferred candidate, despite the former president's loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 race.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was careful not to name Trump directly, but indicated that Russia's preferences have not changed from previous elections when it tried to influence campaigns to help the Republican nominee win. We have not observed a shift in Russia's preferences for the presidential race from past elections, given the role the US is playing with regard to Ukraine and broader policy toward Russia, the official said.
The intelligence community's assessment echoes its previous findings that Russia had attempted to meddle in the 2016 and 2020 elections to support Trump's candidacy. The official noted that Moscow's influence operations continue through social media and other means, as it tries to promote divisive narratives and denigrate specific politicians in battleground states. ,
The Trump campaign responded to the intelligence assessment, accusing the Biden administration of being weak on Russia and claiming that the former president had successfully deterred America's adversaries while in office. However, Trump has frequently criticized the scale of US military support for Ukraine, which has reached over $60 billion since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
In addition to Russia's efforts, the intelligence community also warned that Iran has become increasingly aggressive in its foreign influence operations, including by covertly encouraging protests against the war in Gaza in recent weeks.
As the 2024 election cycle approaches, the US government has vowed to remain vigilant against foreign interference attempts, with the ODNI, FBI, and the National Coordinator for Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience working together to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process. However, the continued threat of Russian meddling, coupled with the divisive political landscape, is likely to keep election security at the forefront of the national conversation in the months to come. ,
