Kremlin Rejects Trump’s Election Interference Allegations

The Kremlin on Friday dismissed U.S. intelligence allegations of Russian meddling in American elections, calling them unfounded. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that “Russia has never interfered in the domestic affairs of other countries” and expects the same in return. This response came after President Donald Trump delivered a 25-minute speech at the White House, where he questioned the integrity of the U.S. electoral process, claiming it is vulnerable to manipulation by foreign powers such as China, Iran, and Russia. Trump also announced the declassification of intelligence documents outlining foreign governments’ capabilities “to compromise U.S. election infrastructure.”

Peskov said Trump was citing “unattributed, unsubstantiated information” from U.S. intelligence agencies and claimed that American investigations into Russian electoral interference allegedly found no wrongdoing. China also rejected Trump’s assertion that it had obtained data on around 220 million American voters, slamming it as “totally fabricated and a malicious smear.”

Trump’s opponents have argued that his address was an attempt to sow confusion ahead of the midterm elections in November, which could deliver a heavy loss to Republicans as the war in Iran and economic issues weigh on the president’s approval rating.