Washington [US], July 30: The US intelligence community believes the Kremlin will focus its propaganda efforts in favor of former President Donald Trump in his White House race against Vice President Kamala Harris.
That was the warning from a US intelligence official on a July 29 phone call organized by the Foreign Influence Countermeasures Center, one of several US government agencies focused on countering foreign propaganda campaigns.
According to NBC News on July 30, the above comment is the clearest sign that the US believes that former President Trump continues to be Russia's favored candidate, even after President Joe Biden left the race and Ms. Harris firmly secured the Democratic nomination for president on November 5.
A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the US warning, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied allegations that Moscow sought to influence the US election outcome.
The Foreign Malign Influence Countermeasures Center is part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the main hub for gathering information from US intelligence agencies.
The ODNI previously concluded that President Putin approved a wide-ranging propaganda campaign to "discredit President Biden and the Democratic Party" and "support former President Trump" in the 2020 US election.
The agency avoided mentioning Trump, Harris or any other Americans by name when commenting on the 2024 election. But on a separate call this month, when Biden was still the Democratic nominee, ODNI officials said Russia remained the primary foreign threat to the US election, and the candidate was still the same as in 2020.
Asked whether Russia would continue to favor Trump over Harris, an ODNI official on the July 29 call said Moscow viewed Harris as a continuation of the Biden administration, and that Russia's influence campaign would not significantly change its approach.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper