Trump: Watching 'closely' foreign election threats

U.S. President Donald Trump says his administration is watching "closely" countries that are posing a threat to 2020 presidential election.

U.S. intelligence officials said Friday y believe that Russia is using a variety of measures to denigrate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden ahead of vember election.

Individuals linked to Kremlin are boosting Trump's reelection bid, country's counterintelligence chief said, in most specific warning to date about threat of foreign interference.

U.S. officials also believe that China does t want Trump to win a second term and has accelerated its criticism of White House, expanding its efforts to shape public policy in America and to pressure political figures seen as opposed to Beijing's interests.

statement from William Evanina is believed to be most pointed declaration by U.S. intelligence community linking Kremlin to efforts to get Trump reelected — a sensitive subject for a president who has rejected intelligence ncy assessments that Russia tried to help him in 2016.

Asked by reporters during a news conference in his Bedminister resort Friday evening, Trump insisted: "I think that last person Russia wants to see in office is Donald Trump, because body's been tougher on Russia than I have."

"China would love us to have an election where Donald Trump lost to sleepy Joe Biden," president said. "y would own our country. "

latest intelligence assessment reflects concerns t only about Russia but China and Iran as well, warning that hostile foreign actors may seek to compromise election infrastructure, interfere with voting process or call into question voting results.

Despite those efforts, officials see it as unlikely that anyone could manipulate voting results in any meaningful way, Evanina said.

"Many foreign actors have a preference for who wins election, which y express through a range of overt and private statements; covert influence efforts are rarer," said Evanina, director of National Counterintelligence Security Center.

"We are primarily concerned about ongoing and potential activity by China, Russia and Iran."

Concerns about election interference are especially acute following a wide-ranging effort by Russia to meddle in 2016 election on Trump's behalf through both hacking of Democratic emails and a covert social media campaign aimed at sowing discord among U.S. voters.

Trump has routinely resisted idea that Kremlin favored him in 2016, but intelligence assessment released Friday indicates that unnamed Kremlin-linked actors are again working to boost his candidacy on social media and Russian television.