--- title: 2020 Democrats Rebuke Trump's Foreign Interference Comment description: Democratic candidates criticized President Donald Trump's remarks that he wouldn't necessarily call the FBI about foreign interference. canonical: https://time.com/5606483/donald-trump-2020-election-foreign-interference/ author: Madeleine Joung article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-06-13T15:33:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T23:44:31.567Z article:section: Politics og:title: 2020 Democrats Criticized Trump's Foreign Interference Comment og:description: Trump "is now essentially calling for open season on our elections" og:url: https://time.com/5606483/donald-trump-2020-election-foreign-interference/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt962eedf9a876ca5e/69894b0c09208fc9ea413f63/biden-trump-iowa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3690 og:image:height: 2076 og:image:alt: President Trump and Joe Biden Will Overlap in Iowa og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 2020 Democrats Criticized Trump's Foreign Interference Comment twitter:description: Trump "is now essentially calling for open season on our elections" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt962eedf9a876ca5e/69894b0c09208fc9ea413f63/biden-trump-iowa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Open Season on Our Elections.' 2020 Democrats Criticized Trump's Foreign Interference Comment > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times 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. by [Madeleine Joung](https://time.com/author/madeleine-joung/) ## Madeleine Joung Jun 13, 2019 3:33 PM UTC  Former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Berlin, N.H., on June 4, 2019. Former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Berlin, N.H., on June 4, 2019. Elise Amendola—AP by [Madeleine Joung](https://time.com/author/madeleine-joung/) ## Madeleine Joung Jun 13, 2019 3:33 PM UTC Democratic presidential candidates harshly criticized President Donald Trump’s remarks that [he wouldn’t necessarily call the FBI](https://time.com/5606393/trump-fbi-foreign-interference-2020/) if offered information from a foreign government about them. “President Trump is once again welcoming foreign interference in our elections,” [tweeted](https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1138982419527327745) former Vice President Joe Biden. “This isn’t about politics. It is a threat to our national security. An American President should not seek their aid and abet those who seek to undermine democracy.” In [an interview with ABC News](https://time.com/5606393/trump-fbi-foreign-interference-2020/), Trump said he would listen to what they had to say and might not call the FBI. “I think you might want to listen,” Trump said. “There’s nothing wrong with listening. If somebody called from a country \[such as\] Norway, \[saying\] we have information on your opponent. Oh, I think I’d want to hear it. It’s not an interference. They have information. I think I’d take it.” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who [called for Trump to be impeached](https://time.com/5597727/mueller-remarks-democratic-candidates/) after Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report became public, again called for his impeachment, as did former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Sen. Kirsten Gellibrand called for the House to begin impeachment hearings. > [](https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1138951312513601536) > [](https://twitter.com/BetoORourke/status/1139136860352131072) > [](https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1138998539609153539) > [](https://twitter.com/SenGillibrand/status/1138950459924930560) California Sen. Kamala Harris called Trump a [“national security threat,”](https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1138976690623959042) New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said the comments were [“disgraceful”](https://twitter.com/CoryBooker/status/1138982233333784578) and Trump “unfit for the office you hold,” and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said [“the 2020 elections are not secure.”](https://twitter.com/amyklobuchar/status/1138961507688091648) Washington Gov. Jay Inslee called the remarks [“dangerous and un-American,”](https://twitter.com/JayInslee/status/1138951287502909441) Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan called them [“shameful,”](https://twitter.com/TimRyan/status/1139005480439881729) former HUD Secretary Julían Castro said Trump [“is now essentially calling for open season on our elections,”](https://twitter.com/JulianCastro/status/1138970457212936192) and Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet said he is [“threatening the integrity of our democracy.”](https://twitter.com/MichaelBennet/status/1139159004305928193) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5606483/donald-trump-2020-election-foreign-interference/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5606483/donald-trump-2020-election-foreign-interference/"},"headline":"'Open Season on Our Elections.' 2020 Democrats Criticized Trump's Foreign Interference Comment","datePublished":"2019-06-13T15:33:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:44:31.567Z","description":"Democratic candidates criticized President Donald Trump's remarks that he wouldn't necessarily call the FBI about foreign interference.","url":"https://time.com/5606483/donald-trump-2020-election-foreign-interference/","keywords":["Donald Trump","2020 Election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt962eedf9a876ca5e/69894b0c09208fc9ea413f63/biden-trump-iowa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Madeleine Joung","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/madeleine-joung/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt962eedf9a876ca5e/69894b0c09208fc9ea413f63/biden-trump-iowa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump and Joe Biden Will Overlap in Iowa","caption":"Former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Berlin NH","creditText":"Elise Amendola—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5606483/donald-trump-2020-election-foreign-interference/","name":"'Open Season on Our Elections.' 2020 Democrats Criticized Trump's Foreign Interference Comment"}}]}] ```