China Desires “Unpredictable” Trump To Lose 2020 Re-Election: US Intelligence

Washington:

China has boosted its efforts to affect the US presidential election in November and needs President Donald Trump to lose as a result of it sees him as “unpredictable,” a prime US intelligence official mentioned Friday.

“We assess that China prefers that President Trump — whom Beijing sees as unpredictable — doesn’t win reelection,” mentioned William Evanina, director of the Nationwide Counterintelligence and Safety Heart.

“China has been increasing its affect efforts forward of November 2020 to form the coverage surroundings in america, stress political figures it views versus China’s pursuits, and deflect and counter criticism of China,” Evanina mentioned in a press release.

He pointed to China’s criticism of Trump’s dealing with of the coronavirus epidemic, of the US closure of China’s Houston consulate, and of the US administration’s stances on Chinese language actions in Hong Kong and the South China Sea.

“Beijing acknowledges that every one of those efforts would possibly have an effect on the presidential race,” Evanina mentioned.

Evanina mentioned Iran is utilizing social media disinformation to divide the nation and harm Trump, whereas Russia is interfering to wreck the marketing campaign of his Democratic opponent Joe Biden.

“Russia is utilizing a variety of measures to primarily denigrate former vp Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia ‘institution,'” Evanina mentioned.

“That is in step with Moscow’s public criticism of him when he was vp for his position within the Obama administration’s insurance policies on Ukraine and its help for the anti-Putin opposition inside Russia,” he mentioned.

Evanina, the highest intelligence official monitoring threats to the election, gave no particulars on the skin interference.

A powerful hacking and social media marketing campaign by Russia in 2016 is credited by US intelligence with serving to Trump to victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

“International efforts to affect or intervene with our elections are a direct risk to the material of our democracy,” he mentioned.

(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)