# Trump Claimed Our Election System is Vulnerable. Then He Dismantled Cyber Defenses > Source: > Published: 2026-08-04 23:05:00+00:00 # Trump Claimed Our Election System is Vulnerable. Then He Dismantled Cyber Defenses Political Breakdown continues an ongoing series on election integrity in America. President Donald Trump repeatedly claims that the American election system is vulnerable and easily compromised. He has gone after electronic voting machines and ballot-counting systems, alleged that more than [250,000 noncitizens](https://www.npr.org/2026/07/16/nx-s1-5896448/trump-election-address) are on the voter rolls of four states and claimed foreign interference in the 2020 election from countries like China. Marisa is joined by NPR correspondent Shannon Bond to parse out the actual vulnerabilities. They discuss the difference between foreign interference and influence, AI’s growing role in political messaging, the loosening of online platform moderation and cuts to cybersecurity offices. If you missed them, you can still listen to our first three episodes in this series: [America’s Long History of Voting and Election Integrity](https://www.kqed.org/news/12090101/americas-long-history-of-voting-and-election-integrity)[The Rise of Election Crime Laws Since 2020](https://www.kqed.org/news/12091047/the-rise-of-election-crime-laws-since-2020)[Inside Shasta County’s Election Integrity Fight](https://www.kqed.org/news/12092003/inside-shasta-countys-election-integrity-fight) Check out [Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter](/newsletters/political-breakdown), delivered straight to your inbox.