Rachel Maddow sounded the alarm about Russian involvement in this year’s presidential election, warning that the attacks could be worse than four years ago, particularly since the Trump administration is in charge.
“Here we go again, right?” the MSNBC host said. “And this time, instead of the Obama administration being in charge … it’s the Trump administration in charge while all this is happening again.”
Video:
‘Here we go again’: Rachel Maddow warns that Russia is up to its usual election meddling tricks in 2016, and that it could be even worse this time around. #ctl #p2 #maddow pic.twitter.com/0PGk9dC4ed
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) September 11, 2020
Maddow said:
So here we go again, right? Except this time we’re not blindsided, right? This time, we know what this is and what they are doing and why. This time we can recognize it instead of being surprised and bewildered by it the way we were when it happened the first time. And this time, instead of the Obama administration being in charge while this is happening, trying to get their heads around this problem, trying to marshal resources to figure out what’s happening, trying to combat it. This time, it’s not the Obama administration trying to protect us. This time, it’s the Trump administration in charge while all this is happening again and apparently at a much higher pitch.
The federal government is asleep at the wheel while Russia attacks the election
The silver lining, of course, is that we know what to expect. Russia used this playbook in 2016 to help elect Donald Trump, and they’re doing the same thing four years later to make sure he wins a second term.
As PoliticusUSA’s Jason Easley reported earlier, Microsoft has already detected that Russian hackers were trying to breach a campaign firm working for Joe Biden.
The Russian-targeted firm also worked for other Democratic candidates.
The attempted hacking is proof that Russia is up to its usual tricks. The good news, as Easley pointed out, is that the Biden team has so far shown it’s prepared to fend off such attacks.
The bad news, as Rachel Maddow said, is that the federal government led by Donald Trump appears to be doing nothing to protect the election.
Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.