Will There Be Meddling in the Midterms?

This episode unpacks the ongoing threat of influence and interference operations posed by Russia, China, and Iran as the 2026 U.S. midterm elections approach.

Host:

James M. Lindsay (cfr.org/experts/james-m-lindsay), Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, CFR

Guest:

Jessica Brandt (cfr.org/expert/jessica-brandt), Senior Fellow for Technology and National Security, CFR, and former director of the Foreign Malign Influence Center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence

We Discuss:

• The difference between foreign “influence” operations and “interference” operations, and why the distinction matters.

• How Russia, China, and Iran run influence campaigns, from troll farms to the corruption of influential Americans.

• Why the intelligence community assesses that no foreign adversary could alter a U.S. vote count “at scale” without detection.

• What the Tenet Media case revealed about Russia’s ability to covertly fund American influencers.

• What President Donald Trump has claimed about Chinese interference in 2020 and what the evidence actually shows.

• How the federal government’s influence-defense apparatus has been scaled back or stood down after being built up through 2024.

• Why America’s decentralized, paper-backed election system is itself a source of security.

• Whether AI and “influence-for-hire” firms are about to turbocharge the threat ahead of the 2026 and 2028 elections.

Mentioned on the Episode:

“Executive Order 13848: Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election (govinfo.gov/app/details/DCPD-201800593),” The White House

“Two RT Employees Indicted for Covertly Funding and Directing U.S. Company That Published Thousands of Videos in Furtherance of Russian Interests (justice.gov/opa/pr/two-rt-employees-indicted-c…),” U.S. Department of Justice

For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The President’s Inbox at: cfr.org/podcasts/presidents-inbox/will-there-b…

Opinions expressed on The President’s Inbox are solely those of the host or guests, not of CFR, which takes no institutional positions on matters of policy.