Elizabeth Graham, an authority on the Trump-Putin relationship, has issued a stark warning about Russia's influence over U.S. elections. Graham, whose articles have reached 11.7 million readers worldwide and who writes a popular Substack on democracy, Russia, and U.S. politics, argues that Vladimir Putin's plan to undermine the United States is unfolding before our eyes. She emphasizes that many Americans are distracted by Donald Trump's sensationalism and overlook the grave threat posed by Russia's long-term strategic takeover.
Graham's unique perspective comes from decades of experience in strategic cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, and Almaty. As a consultant to USAID, she worked in Afghanistan, Rwanda, and Bosnia, and she met with President Yeltsin, Mayor Sobchuk, Vice Mayor Putin, and former President Gorbachev. She personally witnessed the downfall of the USSR, the chaos of the Yeltsin years, and the KGB/FSB covert ascent. She was even invited to join the KGB at least five times, told that her ability to speak Russian and access the U.S. Embassy would benefit Russia.
According to Graham, Putin's revenge plan was published in 1997 as The Foundations of Geopolitics. The plan aims to undermine the United States from the top down by placing a manipulable man in the presidency, and from the bottom up by infiltrating the country with Russian Organized Crime (ROC) to disrupt American lives through drugs, gambling, arson, murder, and threatening phone calls. Graham asserts that this plan is now being executed, with Trump's recent declassification of FBI communications attempting to distort facts about the U.S.-Russia investigation.
In the past eighteen months, Graham notes, Putin's influence over Trump has become increasingly apparent. The U.S. stopped supporting Ukraine, the war in Iran benefited China and Russia at a cost of $2 billion per day to U.S. taxpayers, and the withdrawal of troops from Germany, Syria, Libya, and Afghanistan weakened American military power. The fracture of NATO advances Putin's objectives, and the shutdown of USAID—which Graham worked with—could cause approximately 22 million preventable deaths in Africa by 2030, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Graham calls this action potentially placing Trump among history's most ruthless mass killers.
Graham warns that many Americans fail to see that Trump is committing treason or that Russia wants him in the White House because he is weakening democracy and alienating allies. She points to Trump's long ties to Russian interests through money and business deals, and notes that Capital One closed roughly 300 bank accounts linked to his businesses due to an anti-money laundering review. She also highlights Trump's efforts to illegally change election rules, warning that without intervention, 2026 may be America's last free election.
Graham's personal experience includes her oldest daughter's death in Japan in 2016, ruled a homicide by an unknown substance—possibly poison, a signature method used by Russians. This tragedy underscores the stakes of the ongoing struggle. As the U.S. faces this threat, Graham's expertise offers a crucial perspective on the importance of recognizing and countering Russia's influence.
