24 July 2018•Update: 25 July 2018
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday he is "very concerned" Russia will seek to tip the scales in this November's midterm elections to benefit the Democratic Party.
"Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats," Trump, a Republican, tweeted. "They definitely don’t want Trump!"
It is unclear what, if any, concrete information Trump is basing his speculation on.
Trump has come under significant criticism for his handling of a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, in particular for his apparent siding with Putin against the U.S.’s intelligence community's assessment that Moscow worked to influence the 2016 election in Trump's favor.
The U.S. intelligence community determined publicly in January 2017 that Russia carried out a sweeping campaign to influence the election against then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Trump walked back his distancing from that determination after returning to Washington, but then backtracked in a series of mixed messages.
When asked by reporters if he thought Russia was still a threat, Trump succinctly said, "No." The White House later said he was not responding to the question, and was instead declining the query altogether.
Putin acknowledged at the summit with Trump that he favored the then-Republican nominee because Trump "was the one who wanted to normalize relations with Russia," but has consistently maintained the Kremlin had no part in interfering in the 2016 election.
Legislation making its way through Capitol Hill would hit Russia with additional U.S. sanctions if it is determined to meddle in future elections.
