Trump security team worried about Chinese election interference

China has taken the most active role among countries seeking to interfere in the U.S. election and has the biggest program to influence domestic politics, U.S. national security adviser Robert O’Brien said on Friday, without providing any details.

“We know the Chinese have taken the most active role,” O’Brien told reporters at a briefing. He added China had “had the most massive program to influence the United States politically,” followed by Iran and then Russia.

U.S. intelligence found that Russia orchestrated a cyber campaign to sway the 2016 presidential election in Republican Donald Trump’s favor and there have been reports hackers may try to influence the election on Nov. 3.

Moscow has denied interfering in 2016. “We’ve made it very clear to the Chinese, to the Russians, to the Iranians and others that haven’t been publicly disclosed that anyone ... that attempts to interfere with the American elections will face extraordinary consequences,” O’Brien said.

Trump-appointed Attorney General William Barr said on Wednesday he believed China was more of a threat than Russia when it came to election interference, also without offering details. In August, O’Brien said the United States had seen Chinese hackers targeting U.S. election infrastructure.

China has consistently denied U.S. government charges that it hacks U.S. companies, politicians or government agencies. Asked to comment on O’Brien’s latest remarks, its embassy referred to a Foreign Ministry statement last month that China has no interest in interfering in the U.S. election.

Trump, who long touted his friendly ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping as he sought to make good on trade deal promises, has made getting tough on China a key part of his campaign for re-election in November and blames China over the coronavirus pandemic.

In a speech to the Republican National Convention last month, Trump said that Beijing supports his Democratic opponent Joe Biden and “desperately” wants him to win the election.

Asked to provide specific details of Chinese election interference, O’Brien said: “I am not going to go into all the intelligence, but the massive activities of the Chinese and cyber realm, it’s really an extraordinary thing that we’re facing.”

He called the scope of Chinese activity 'relentless':“We’ve never seen anything like it. It was nothing like this in the Cold War with the Soviets.”

Earlier this week, it was reported that hackers had stepped up efforts to knock Trump campaign and business websites offline ahead of the U.S. election, in what a security firm working for the campaign said could be preparation for a larger digital assault.

With Reuters

 

The Liberum

Vox Populi, Vox Dei
See full bio >
The Liberum runs on your donation. Fight with us for a free society.
Donation Form (#6)

More articles you might like

Flashpoint – Words of wisdom beyond the scientific

Time to cash in on the JFK file exposés; see my Winter Kills and Enemy […]

Trump remains silent on the deleted 2 Minutes and 53 seconds of Epstein’s footage

Jeffrey Epstein is no historical footnote. He is a key, not to the past, but […]
- by Ali Albeash on 18/07/2025

Julani’s Triumph over Ahmed al‑Sharaa is the Beginning of Syria’s End

The carefully constructed façade of a unified Syrian transition shattered under the weight of its […]

Blonde Ambition – David Lynch drives through Trump’s California

I’ve been researching the mysterious masterpiece that is Mulholland Drive (2001) recently, checking YouTube reviewers […]

Belgium’s Nestor of opposition politics, Filip Dewinter: “Western European civilisation as we know it will cease to exist”

Flemish nationalist politician Filip Dewinter is Belgium’s most famous right-wing politician. With 40 years of […]
- by The Liberum on 09/07/2025

Donald Trump’s return marks a chance for Europe’s Renaissance

The return of Donald Trump to the White House marks a turning point not only […]