MSNBC Producer Kyle Griffin Receives Backlash For Tweet On Russia's Attempt To Denigrate Biden And Support Trump
MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin is receiving a backlash for a tweet that highlights Russia's election push for Donald Trump, while completely ignoring China and Iran's hope that he does not get re-elected, and Joe Biden wins the election in Nov. The tweet focused on Russia's attempt to defame the former vice president.
In other words, Griffin specifically emphasized that Trump could reap major benefits from foreign interference in the upcoming election. Much to his chagrin, the Twitterverse erupted with criticism for his choice to completely ignore that China and Iran support Biden, and hope Trump doesn't get reelected, Fox News reported.
Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center William Evanina released a statement on Friday, indicating multiple countries are trying to influence the US election, which is slated to take place on Nov. 3 this year. He cited an assessment to imply Russia is using several measures to denigrate Biden, and what it considers to be an anti-Russia establishment.
The statement highlights the criticism Biden received from the people of Moscow for his role as the vice president in the Obama administration's policies on Ukraine, as well as for supporting anti-Putin opposition in the country. Moreover, the report indicates that some actors linked with The Moscow Kremlin are bent on boosting Trump's candidacy on social media platforms and in Russian media.
Aside from Russia, Evanina suggests China and Iran may try to influence the outcome of the fall election. The statement claims China does not want Trump to win reelection as Beijing sees him as unpredictable. Iran, on the other hand, may attempt to undermine Trump, the democratic institutions of the United States, urge political figures and even counteract criticism of China.
Griffin tweeted the headline from The Associated Press that only emphasized on Russia's attempt to defame Biden without mentioning the eagerness of China and Iran to undermine the president. Addressing his more than 80,000 followers on Twitter, Griffin wrote "WASHINGTON (AP) — US intelligence says Russia is using a range of measures to denigrate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden."
Griffin has been slammed in the past for sharing a misleading tweet about Trump. This time, he is accused of ignoring crucial details from Evanina's statement in an attempt to revive the Russian conspiracy narrative from the 2016 election. Taking to the comments section of the tweet, communications consultant Frank Luntz sarcastically asked Griffin if any other countries were mentioned in the statement.
Jewish Institute for National Security of America senior policy analyst Erielle Davidson replied saying both China and Iran are hoping that Trump loses, adding that Griffin conveniently ignored that part. Davidson said both China and Iran pose a far more dangerous threat to the country's national security as compared to Russia and its crippled economy.