Originally Posted by
Stacko
You can pretend a third party can win all you want but America elections are effectively a contest between two parties at present. I doubt Russia gave any thought to anyone winning other than Hillary or Donald.
Who's pretending anything? The distinction is real, and important. If the Russians tried to influence the outcome in order to defeat Hillary Clinton- obviously they would pick the person likely to defeat her (Trump, in this case) to aid- that does not indicate any fondness for Trump, only disdain for Clinton. OTOH, if they decided to aid Trumps campaign because they expect something in return from Trump, or because they feel Trump will harm the country in some way that another candidate wouldn't, the implications are different.