Counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance blasted Donald Trump on Wednesday for being complicit in Russia’s effort to create chaos and deepen political divisions ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Nance said Trump’s ludicrous claim that Russia will try to help the Democrats in this year’s campaign is just the latest evidence that the president is essentially helping the Kremlin cause chaos ahead of the election.
“The best thing the Russians can do is introduce mayhem into the system,” he said. “The president himself is going to be responsible.”
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.@MalcolmNance says Trump will be directly responsible if the Russians successfully infiltrate the 2018 elections. #ctl #p2 #Trump pic.twitter.com/rS5Ac0RFKB
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) August 2, 2018
Nance said:
For the president himself, this is classic misdirection. To tell you the truth, I was quite alarmed when he made that statement, he is tough on Russia, the Russians are going to assist the Democrats. It almost sounded like he was sending orders to the Kremlin to now go after and make it appear that the Democrats are going to do something. Look, if there is a blue wave this fall, even if it’s a small one, the best thing the Russians can do is introduce mayhem into the system, to make it look like they were supporting the Democrats. Go out and hack a few voting machines. Go out and turn over a few precinct ballots and then the other side, the opposition, can use this to either call for the invalidation of the election itself or to create mayhem just short of civil war. The president himself is going to be responsible.
Russia’s election interference didn’t end in 2016
It’s clear that Russia’s interference in American elections didn’t end with their successful 2016 operation to make Donald Trump president.
That was demonstrated in recent days as the Kremlin attempted to infiltrate Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill’s campaign. Facebook also shut down a series of Russian-connected pages that were trying to stir up political divisions ahead of the elections.
This active threat to U.S. democracy is compounded by the fact that the president is unwilling to acknowledge the problem and act on it. In fact, his rhetoric only further advances Russia’s overall goal of causing a political civil war in the United States.
Ultimately, Donald Trump is turning a blind eye while Russia continues to attack American democracy. If the Kremlin is again successful in causing mayhem in 2018, it will be the President of the United States who is responsible.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
