If the Kremlin’s 2020 plan is to divide Democrats, this past week has provided ample kindling for the fire – starting with the Warren/Sanders spat and including Secretary Clinton’s comments yesterday. ASD fellow Bret Schafer analyzes Russia’s coverage of the controversies. 
Yesterday, the top story on RT.com was the Clinton/Sanders feud fueled by Clinton’s “nobody likes him” quote that surfaced in a Hollywood Reporter interview. For those keeping score at home, there was also a Senate trial to impeach a sitting president yesterday.
This follows a pattern. After last week’s Democratic debate, Russian state-funded media & affiliated accounts hammered CNN, the Warren campaign, and the DNC for conspiring against Sanders – a theme that was central to Russia’s efforts to divide progressive & centrist Dems in 2016
Sputnik News (the more conspiratorial sister outlet to RT) hinted that the entire Warren/Sanders dispute was a set-up orchestrated by the Warren campaign and CNN “to boost ratings.” This ticks two prominent narrative boxes – corporate media are corrupt and elections are rigged.
Those two narratives were woven throughout Russia’s overt and covert messaging in 2016, and they have surfaced consistently in Russian state-funded media’s reporting on the 2020 process – including in their coverage of Tulsi Gabbard.
Like most influence campaigns focused on U.S. domestic issues, the divisions within the Democratic Party were not created by Russia. But Russian media and troll accounts have shown a willingness to fan those flames, suggesting a desire to further divide the left.
This highlights two key points: 1) Russian state-backed efforts to influence the election are happening right now, out in the open and 2) the Russians need not create the controversies or wedge issues needed to divide us – we do most of the heavy lifting for them.
