The Preamble

The Preamble

Is China Interfering in US Politics?

Yes, but not the way you might think

Elise Labott's avatar
Elise Labott
Jul 24, 2026
∙ Paid

President Trump used a primetime address last week to revive a familiar grievance. He didn’t quite say outright that the 2020 election was stolen, but he came close, pointing to China’s acquisition of roughly 220 million American voter records as evidence of a vast effort to undermine his campaign. The insinuation was unmistakable even if the speech nev…

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Elise Labott's avatar
A guest post by
Elise Labott
Global affairs journalist. I write Cosmopolitics on Substack.
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