Officials with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) have warned that Russia has launched a plan to interfere in the 2024 election to bolster the chances of former President Trump being re-elected.
In a briefing with reporters on Tuesday, ODNI officials said that Russia is the “preeminent threat” to the election and that while China doesn’t plan to influence the outcome of the presidential race, the communist nation is being carefully monitored to see if it mingles in down-ballot races.
“It’s all the tactics we’ve seen before, primarily through social media, efforts using influential U.S. voices to amplify their narratives and other tactics,” an official said. “And as far as who they’re targeting, what we can say today is, Russia is sophisticated enough to know that, targeting swing state voters is, particularly valuable to them.”
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, right. Officials say China may mingle in down-ballot races while Russia will increase its meddling as U.S. election day gets closer to manipulate public opinion. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
Officials said that the intelligence community expects Russia will increase its underhanded activities as U.S. election day gets closer in order to manipulate public opinion, underscoring the threat to America’s political landscape.
Although former President Trump was not named specifically, ODNI officials said that the Russian interference is mimicking what it says were similar preferences for U.S. presidential candidates seen in previous election cycles.
Russia is “undertaking a whole-of-government approach to influence the election, including the presidential race, Congress and public opinion,” the official said, noting that Russia has grown “more sophisticated” over the years in election interference.
The Kremlin, officials said, is…
