At U.N., Trump accuses China of interfering in midterm elections

President Donald Trump accused China of trying to interfere in the upcoming midterm elections to help Democrats during remarks at a United Nations Security Council meeting Wednesday.

“They don’t want me, or us, to win because I am the first president to ever challenge China on trade,” Trump said. “We don’t want them to interfere in our upcoming election.”

It’s not the first time Trump has pointed a finger at China — he’s claimed, without providing evidence, that Chinese hackers could have tried to throw the 2016 election. More recently, he has made the case that Beijing’s targeted retaliatory tariffs are designed to hurt him politically.

China has openly stated that they are actively trying to impact and change our election by attacking our farmers, ranchers and industrial workers because of their loyalty to me. What China does not understand is that these people are great patriots and fully understand that…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 18, 2018

But the venue was remarkable, as China is a member of the security council.

In response to Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods, Beijing has made little secret of its effort to surgically strike industries and parts of the country that have been most supportive of Trump.