The key facts

  • Trump publicly acknowledged the collection of intelligence on Russia and China
  • He did not specify the nature of the information or his interlocutors
  • Context: in March, Politico reported an intelligence 'swap' in talks between Moscow and Washington

An admission at a rally

US President Donald Trump said that the United States is collecting intelligence on Russia and China. Speaking at a rally for Republican supporters in the state of Iowa, he recounted a conversation with an interlocutor who, according to him, complained: 'It's terrible, sir, China and Russia are spying on us.' Trump replied: 'That's true, and we do the same to them. But we do it even better, so don't worry about it.'

What was left unsaid

The American leader did not specify exactly what intelligence was being discussed, nor did he explain with whom and when he had discussed the topic. As Gazeta.Ru reports, citing TASS, the statement was made at a campaign rally rather than in an official document, so it reveals neither specific programs nor their scale.

Context: intelligence as a bargaining chip

The statement came against the backdrop of intelligence information already having featured in Russian-American contacts. In March, Politico reported , citing journalists, that Russia had proposed a deal to the United States: Moscow would stop sharing intelligence with Iran, while Washington would stop providing Ukraine with information about Russian military facilities. According to these reports, the proposal was made by Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president's special representative, to US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner at a meeting in Miami. In addition, the head of Volodymyr Zelensky's office had previously acknowledged that Ukraine critically depends on Western intelligence. Trump's speech itself does not touch on these storylines, but it shows that the topic of intelligence exchange between the parties has been publicly discussed for several months now.