--- title: Donald Trump Claims Russia Will Help Democrats in 2018 description: President Donald Trump returned to a 2016 theme, warning on Twitter that he believes Russia will interfere — to help the Democrats. canonical: https://time.com/5347269/donald-trup-russia-interfere-2018-election-democrats/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-24T17:57:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:35:22.884Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Is Back to Complaining, Without Evidence, About Rigged Elections. This Time, It's 2018 og:description: Without any evidence og:url: https://time.com/5347269/donald-trup-russia-interfere-2018-election-democrats/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt292c816f74779cfe/69893580e76ad26f1d63282c/gettyimages-1000225262.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3406 og:image:height: 1916 og:image:alt: President Trump And President Putin Hold A Joint Press Conference After Summit og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Is Back to Complaining, Without Evidence, About Rigged Elections. This Time, It's 2018 twitter:description: Without any evidence twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt292c816f74779cfe/69893580e76ad26f1d63282c/gettyimages-1000225262.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Is Back to Complaining, Without Evidence, About Rigged Elections. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=09406c1d-eb75-46eb-b93b-102ad203354d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Continues to Push Conspiracy Theories [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Continues to Push Conspiracy Theories](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/wXkEaMac.m3u8) (3:53)  _Published 2017-12-05. Donald Trump built his political career on a conspiracy theory: The false claim that Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States._ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Jul 24, 2018 5:57 PM UTC Donald Trump built his political career on a conspiracy theory: The false claim that Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Jul 24, 2018 5:57 PM UTC When the 2016 presidential election looked like it might not go Donald Trump’s way, he began complaining that it was [going to be “rigged,”](https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/01/politics/donald-trump-election-2016-rigged/index.html) giving vague conspiratorial warnings that he would lose due to foul play. “I’m afraid the election’s going to be rigged. I have to be honest,” he told attendees at an Ohio rally in August of 2016. Facing what increasingly look to be rough midterm elections for Republicans, Trump returned to that theme Tuesday, warning darkly on Twitter that he believes Russia will interfere — in order to help the Democrats. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1021784726217142273) “I’m very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election,” he wrote on Twitter. “Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don’t want Trump.” A quick fact check: • Trump offered no evidence for his contention that Russia will interfere to help Democrats. • The CIA, FBI and National Security Agency found that [Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Trump](https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/18/politics/trump-versus-us-intelligence-on-russian-election-interference/index.html). • The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee also found that [Russia favored Trump](https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/senate-report-affirms-intelligence-communitys-conclusion-that-russia-favored-trump-over-clinton/2018/07/03/4f0f03a2-7ef7-11e8-bb6b-c1cb691f1402%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.644963a4bbbb) in 2016. • The head of that committee, GOP Sen. Richard Burr, said he’s seen no evidence to disbelieve [Russia favored Trump](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/us/politics/richard-burr-senate-intelligence-committee-russia.html) in 2016. • Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a joint press conference in Helsinki that [he preferred Trump](https://www.npr.org/2018/07/17/629601233/trumps-helsinki-bow-to-putin-leaves-world-wondering-whats-up) in 2016. • Trump’s claims that he’s been tougher on Russia were rated [“mostly false”](https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/feb/20/donald-trump/has-donald-trump-been-much-tougher-russia-barack-o/) and [“Three Pinocchios”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/02/22/trumps-claim-that-hes-been-much-tougher-on-russia-than-obama/?utm%5Fterm=.e153be1df5f8) by fact checkers. Trump’s own Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said that [Russia favored Trump](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-23/pompeo-affirms-reluctantly-that-russia-tried-to-help-trump-win), though he said that conclusion had the “least support” among the various conclusions from the intelligence community. (The CIA, FBI and NSA all said they had “high confidence” that Russia preferred Trump, however.) A [House Intelligence Committee report](https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/17/politics/house-intelligence-committee-report-putin-comments/index.html) also questioned whether the intelligence community used proper tradecraft in reaching its conclusion that Russia favored Trump in 2016\. (Democrats on the committee [did not sign on to that report](https://www.npr.org/2018/03/13/593323095/house-intelligence-democrats-release-response-to-gop-russia-conclusions).) America’s intelligence agencies are still concerned about Russia, however, with Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats warning earlier this month that the [danger of Russian cyberattacks](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/us/politics/dan-coats-intelligence-russia-cyber-warning.html) right now is comparable to the terror threats received before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. “The warning lights are blinking red again,” he said. “Today, the digital infrastructure that serves this country is literally under attack.” Trump has [long backed conspiracy theories](http://time.com/5050621/donald-trump-conspiracy-theories/), even after they have been disproven, repeating the false claims that vaccines are related to autism, climate change is a hoax and Barack Obama was not born in the United States. He’s also toyed with other conspiracy theories like Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death was suspicious or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s father was somehow involved in the Kennedy assassination. Some of Trump’s conspiracy theories are tied to his personal situation. After he lost the popular vote in the 2016 election, Trump floated the baseless contention that millions of Americans voted illegally in the 2016 election, even leading to the [creation of a voter fraud commission](https://www.npr.org/2017/10/26/560089042/nothing-going-on-with-trump-voter-fraud-commission-due-to-multiple-lawsuits), and he has [repeatedly argued that Russia did not meddle in the election](http://time.com/5290531/donald-trump-robert-mueller-russia-investigation-arguments/) or that Russian meddling did not affect any votes. At various times, he’s even [argued](http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1708/10/cg.02.html) that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to favor Hillary Clinton, a claim that no U.S. intelligence agencies support. “There was no collusion between us and Russia. In fact, the opposite. Russia spent a lot of money on fighting me,” he said in August of 2017. That echoed a back-and-forth he had at the [final presidential debate with Clinton](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/10/19/the-final-trump-clinton-debate-transcript-annotated/?utm%5Fterm=.34b85516499e), when she criticized him for not acknowledging Russia was interfering with the election and charged that he would be a “puppet” of the country. “No puppet. No puppet,” Trump responded. “You’re the puppet.” ## Transcript [00:01] " Donald Trump built his political career on a [00:03] conspiracy theory: the idea that President Obama was [00:07] not born in the United States ." [ MUSIC ] [00:16] " Trump repeatedly pushed the idea in interviews and [00:18] on social media, long after it was disproved ." Why [00:21] doesn't he show his birth certificate. And I have my [00:23] own theory on Obama. It's one of the greatest scams in [00:26] the history of politics. But it's not the only conspiracy [00:28] theory he's indulged, on a campaign trail and in the [00:31] White House he's toyed with some outlandish ideas. [00:33] That Ted Cruz's father might be involved in the [00:36] Kennedy assassination. His father ws with Lee Harvey [00:39] Oslwald what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oslwald [00:42] Right. Shortly, before the deaths, before the shooting. [00:45] Did anybody ever deny that it was the father? They're [00:48] not saying," that wasn't really my father ." It's a little [00:50] hard to do, cuz it looks like him. That Marco Rubio [00:52] may not be elligible to run for president, an argument [00:55] no contstitutional scholar supported. You're really not [00:58] sure that Marco Rubio is elligible Eligible to run for [01:00] president. I don't know. I really, I've never looked at it [01:03] George. Honestly, I've never looked at it. Somebody [01:05] said he's not and I retweeted it. That routine vaccation [01:09] cause autism a theory scientests have long debunked. [01:11] The child, a beautiful child, went to have the vaccine [01:15] and came back, and, a week a later got a tremendous [01:18] fever, got very very sick, now is autisic. We have [01:22] extremely. [ MUSIC ] Well documented proof that [01:26] there's no autism associated with vaccinations. That [01:29] supreme court justice Anton and Scalia might have [01:31] been murdered. Scalia was he murdered? I know it's [01:33] pretty brutal to say that. It's a horrible topic but they [01:37] say they found the pillow on his face, which is a pretty [01:40] unual place to find a pillow. I can't tell you what, I [01:44] can't give you an answer. That Muslims in New Jersey [01:47] cheered after 9 / 11. A claim no one has ever [01:49] substantiated. And I watched in Jersey City, New [01:52] Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people [01:57] were cheering. And the other side of New Jersey where [01:59] you have large Arab populations, they were cheering [02:02] as the World Trade Center came down. That millions of [02:04] Americans voted illegally in 2016. Sixteen, a claim with [02:08] no factual support. Does the president believe that [02:10] millions voted illegally in this election? He continues to [02:13] maintain that belief based on studies and evidence [02:15] that people have presented to him. What evidence do [02:17] you have? I, I, as I said, I think the president has [02:20] believed that for a while based on studies and [02:22] information he has. That Climate Change is a hoax. All [02:23] of this with the global warming and the that a [02:27] lot of it's a hoax. It's a hoax. I mean it's a money [02:29] making industry okay? A Sussian meddling in the 2016 [02:32] election is a hoax. [ MUSIC ] And [02:44] according to a recent New York Times report that the [02:46] Acess hollywood viideo of him admitting to grabbing [02:48] women's genital Is a hoax even though he apologized [02:52] for it when it came out. I said it, I was wrong, and I [02:56] apologize. It's not clear how much Trump really [02:58] believes these ideas. He's backed down from some in [03:01] the past. Barack Obama was born in [03:05] the United States. Period. Only to indulge them again [03:08] later. [ MUSIC ] Some of the theories have helped [03:11] Trump politically by tearing down rivals or creating [03:13] doubt about policies he opposes. Others have hurt [03:16] him, as polls show voters increasingly question his [03:19] judgment. But one thing is clear, Donald Trump [03:23] is not going to stop talking about conspiracy theories. 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