President Donald Trump on Tuesday downplayed allegations that China had compromised U.S. election-related data, just five days after calling the incident “the largest compromise of election data in history”.
Trump told reporters he would discuss the issue with Chinese officials but was not contemplating immediate punitive measures. He also said the alleged incident was not recent.
That was long, long ago. “I think maybe China is a little bit different today than it was then,” Trump said.
Last week, in a nationally televised speech, Trump said China received 220 million U.S. voter records starting in 2020. He called the alleged breach an unprecedented threat to the security of elections but did not provide public evidence to back up the claim.
Trump also suggested Tuesday that cyber and intelligence activities are taking place on both sides of the U.S.-China relationship.
“We do things and they do things to us,” he said. “I’ll be honest. We do stuff to them too. It’s not a one-way street.
His remarks were a stark contrast to his earlier comments, which had described the alleged breach as a serious national security issue.
A White House official, meanwhile, said planning for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States in September was continuing despite the recent allegations involving China.
The White House did not comment on whether the administration was considering action against Beijing, including sanctions.
