Eli Lake, Columnist

Americans Can Undermine Their Own Election, Thank You

With their efforts to sow fear and doubt, Russia and Iran are pushing on an open door.

October 22, 2020 at 7:10 PM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

Special perks for Florida voters.
Photographer: CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP

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Earlier this month, curious emails began arriving in the inboxes of some Florida Democrats. Claiming to be from the Proud Boys, a group known for street altercations with leftists, they warned: “Vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you.”

This had the potential to be another blow to President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. In the first debate last month, Trump declined to unequivocally denounce the Proud Boys. “Stand back and stand by,” he said. Now those very same Proud Boys were threatening Democratic voters in a swing state.