On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The ReidOut,” host Joy Reid reacted to National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) Director William Evanina’s statement on threats to the 2020 election coming from Russia, China, and Iran by saying that the possibility that the information on Iran and China was “included in order to get it past Donald Trump,” came to mind. And stated that China is “making statements” that President Trump is unstable, to which she reacted, “Well, no kidding. There are a lot of Americans who believe that Donald Trump is unstable.”
Reid asked Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), “What do you make of the fact that there’s all this other information too about Iran and China. Do you worry that that information is being included in order to get it past Donald Trump, meaning, have something in there to both-sides it so that people say, oh wait, there are also countries helping Biden. That is something that sort of sprang to mind when I heard that they’re talking, not just about Russia, but about these other countries. Am I being too paranoid about that?”
Later in the segment, Reid asked NBC News National Security Contributor Frank Figliuzzi, “Frank, we know that Russia is doing it again. They’re trying to add China and Iran. Do you take it seriously, this — the other two countries being added to it in order to balance it out, or do you think we still need to be focused on Russia?”
Figliuzzi responded that China and Iran should be taken “very seriously.” And that if China took malicious actions in the election, “they would make Russia look like the junior varsity.”
He continued that we should also focus on Russia. Because “they have a track record” of breaking laws and interfering in American elections. Figliuzzi further stated that people in the intelligence community he talks to are worried that political leaders will distort messages, “and that’s the fear, the equivalency, the false equivalency that China likes Biden, therefore, it’s all balanced out is a very, very troubling, misleading, dangerous presumption. Because Russia is actually destroying and intervening and hacking and sending out social media propaganda. Whereas, it appears China is merely saying, you know, we really think Trump might need to go.”
Reid responded, “Right. Saying he’s unstable. They’re making statements, saying that he’s unstable and things like that. Well, no kidding. There are a lot of Americans who believe that Donald Trump is unstable.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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