US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin after they arrived for a summit in Anchorage, Alaska, in August 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty
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The 2016 election that put Donald Trump in the White House the first time was defined in many ways by the role of America’s longtime adversary Russia. Over the years, multiple investigations have concluded that Russia meddled in the election to boost Trump over Hillary Clinton and create political discord among voters. Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly called the Russia investigations a “hoax.”
As the 2026 midterms approach, experts warn that Russia could interfere in US elections once again. Because as Mother Jones Washington bureau chief David Corn lays out in his new book, How Russia Won: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the Fight for America, Russia has been waging a continuous campaign against the US.
“You have to wonder if Russia will be meddling yet again,” Corn tells host Al Letson, referring to the upcoming midterms. “And this time around, it’s different, because what Trump has done since he got back into the White House is to decimate all the government offices and agencies that would be looking for Russian interference and trying to counter it.”
On this week’s More To The Story, Corn talks about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “twilight war” against the US and Western democracies, argues that the infamous Steele dossier ultimately helped Trump, and examines how the Trump White House has dismantled government agencies tasked with finding and fending off Russian disinformation campaigns.
Find More To The Story on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, or your favorite podcast app, and don’t forget to subscribe.
