Information background: why Trump announced the possible interference of Russia and China in the voting by mail in the USA

Russia or China may interfere with the vote during the US presidential election in 2020, if it takes place by mail. This was stated by President Donald Trump during a meeting with voters organized by Fox News.

“Look at California. The state governor sends out millions of ballots. Where will they go? And where will they not get? Will the postmen deliver them directly to their hands or will people get them out of their mailboxes? ”Trump asked the audience. 

According to the American leader, hostile US states can take advantage of this situation. 

“Another big problem is foreign countries, Russia and China. I am especially worried about China. Not Russia, but China. What if they print millions of ballots using exactly the same paper and the same printing press as ours? What if they print these newsletters and distribute them? Voting by mail is fraught with enormous dangers, ”the US president answered a question from one of the participants in the meeting.

At the same time, Trump said that he was not against voting outside the place of residence.

“There is nothing to worry about in voting outside the place of residence, because for this people go through a special procedure. And this is a serious procedure. But in the case of voting by mail, ballots are sent out to literally millions of copies to everyone. I think I read that over 30 million ballots will be sent out in California. And where will they go? ”Trump asked his rhetorical question.

The US President also noted that the coronavirus pandemic, the spread of which is the main argument of the Democrats in favor of voting by mail, should not interfere with personal voting. According to the head of the White House, even during the years of more serious trials, the Americans were present at polling stations.

“We participated in the First World War and voted, we participated in the Second World War and voted. Now we have a coronavirus, but by then the situation will improve, ”Donald Trump expressed confidence.

Recall, starting in April, despite the fact that an emergency mode was introduced in all states due to the spread of the coronavirus, the US president regularly criticizes mail voting. Once again, Trump criticized this form of plebiscite in late May on his Twitter.

There is NO WAY (ZERO!) That Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent. Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed. The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone .....

“It IS EXCLUDED (PROBABILITY ZERO!) That voting by mail will result in something other than serious fraud. The contents of the mailboxes will be stolen, newsletters - forged and even illegally printed and fraudulently signed, ”the head of the White House wrote.

Trump has repeatedly stated that the election process itself can be attacked, and in a variety of formats, the deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University Nikita Danyuk recalled in an interview with RT.

“In this case, the fact that China and Russia act in this connection is not surprising, because in the American doctrine these states are designated as strategic opponents of the United States. In addition, Trump is thus trying in advance to protect himself from attacks and accusations of his opponents that again it was external interference that ensured a potential, hypothetical victory in the presidential election, ”the expert noted.

Pros and cons

It is worth noting that Trump, the main political opponent of the United States and Democratic candidate from the Democratic Party, Joe Biden, advocates holding a vote by mail. In April, he said that, despite the epidemiological situation in November 2020, the vote should still take place.

At the same time, the former vice president criticized the actions of Trump, who is in no hurry to approve the allocation of emergency funds to the US Postal Service. This, according to Biden, indicates that Trump is trying to "undermine" the electoral process and prevent the possibility of a vote by mail.

• Former US Vice President Joe Biden
• Reuters
• © Brendan McDermid

“We must simplify the voting process for everyone, especially if we maintain the conditions of a kind of isolation in which we operate now. But this requires a lot of money, we will need to provide the states with funding and insist that they organize a vote by mail, ”Biden said during an online conference held as part of his campaign.

Biden is currently ahead of Trump in ratings based on opinion polls. So, according to the latest data from the Real Clear Politics aggregator, 50.6% of voters are ready to vote for him, while Trump - 40.6%.

The current president of the United States during a meeting with voters drew attention to this, scolding the Americans and allowing Biden to win the upcoming elections.

“Perhaps he will become president because some people don’t like me. But I'm just doing my job, ”Trump complained.

It is not surprising that Biden advocates voting by mail, as this will provide a higher “turnout” for passive voters, said Nikita Danyuk.

“It's not that the Democrats can rig the vote. If the Democrats as a whole are more disposed to vote by mail, then this is due to the fact that they are quite active in using various latest media and all kinds of communication tools. In this case, Trump is a slave, so this procedure is inconvenient for him, ”the political scientist explained.

Allegations

President Vladimir Putin, as well as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have repeatedly noted that statements about any interference in the US elections in the United States by Moscow are unproven and tendentious. Sergey Lavrov, in particular, emphasized that this issue has become an instrument of internal political disputes in the United States. According to the Russian Foreign Minister, in the United States "they are trying to use the Russophobic card in the domestic political struggle, including on the part of those who could not accept the results of the elections that were held in full accordance with the American constitution."

In turn, official Beijing has also repeatedly denied Trump’s allegations that the Chinese side allegedly intends to intervene in the US democratic process.

“The US presidential election is an internal affair of this country. We are not interested in interfering in them. We hope that the American people will not drag China into their election policies, ”Reeng quotes Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuan.

• US polling station
• Reuters
• © Tom Brenner

Trump’s current suspicions about the intention of Russia or China to use postal voting to interfere in the elections are absolutely groundless, said HSE professor Alexander Domrin in a conversation with RT.

“He now contradicts himself, because earlier his opponents accused Russia of the fact that it influenced his election. Now, following his logic, Russia supposedly should intervene in the US election process on the side of Biden? This is completely absurd, ”the political scientist explained.

The statements that one of the forms of voting may be illegitimate themselves speaks of serious negative processes that are observed in American democracy, the expert believes.

“American politicians are worried about this issue because the political system has gone awry - the United States is experiencing a crisis of democratic institutions, including the electoral system,” Domrin emphasized.

Nikita Danyuk, in turn, noted that both the anti-Russian consensus and the anti-Chinese one have now developed among the US political elite.

“And in this case, it would be strange for Russia and China to interfere in the elections on someone’s side, because both Biden and Trump, despite the difference in approaches, represent forces that are not interested in normalizing relations with both countries. Most likely, no one will provide concrete accusations, facts, evidence. This situation is simply used to create an informational background that will warm up more and more as elections approach, ”the expert concluded.