As Russia meddles, Trump shrugs

The following is an excerpt of an editorial that ran in the New York Times.

With less than 100 days to go until the midterms, the evidence continues to pile up that America’s electoral system remains a hot target for hackers, most notably agents of the Russian government.

But it’s no mystery why Russia and other bad actors would assume they could get away with such incursions. Despite repeated warnings from U.S. intelligence agencies regarding the nation’s vulnerabilities, there remains no focused, coordinated plan by the White House for dealing with this crucial security issue.

Nor does President Donald Trump seem comfortable criticizing the baddest of bad actors identified by U.S. intelligence agencies — (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. Quite the opposite: When it comes to cyberattacks on U.S. democracy, the message coming from this president reeks of confusion, equivocation and weakness.

Fortunately, plenty of administration officials are less sanguine, with various agencies working to shore up the system; the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have formed task forces to that end. And up on Capitol Hill, senators are pushing bipartisan bills aimed at tackling this problem from multiple angles. But without the clear backing of the president, it will be tough to rally enough Republican support to drag any of these measures over the finish line.

The biggest hurdle to combating this threat seems to be America’s president.