--- title: "Trump says US spies better than China and Russia" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-says-us-spies-better-than-china-and-russia" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/trump-says-us-spies-better-than-china-and-russia" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-says-us-spies-better-than-china-and-russia.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/trump-says-us-spies-better-than-china-and-russia" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-11-02T05:05:11.936Z" source_reported: "2026-11-02T04:03:00.000Z" updated: "2026-11-02T06:00:31.439Z" trust_score: 60 critic_score: 65 hype_score: 45 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-11-02T07:15:14.082679+00:00" --- # Trump says US spies better than China and Russia *President made claims during Iowa campaign rally ahead of midterm elections.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 60 of 100, higher is better. Two full reports and three digests corroborate Trump's claim about US spying on China and Russia. - Craft 65 of 100, higher is better. The reporting clearly separates Trump's statements from the DoJ case details and provides context. - Hype 45 of 100, lower is better. The headline accurately reflects Trump's statement but the article does not delve deeply into the implications. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - US President Donald Trump claimed the United States conducts intelligence operations against China and Russia. - Trump stated that the US is more effective at spying on adversaries than China and Russia. - The remarks were made during a campaign rally in Iowa before the US midterm elections. - The US Department of Justice announced the sentencing of two Chinese nationals for acting as agents of the Chinese government. US President Donald Trump stated that the United States conducts intelligence operations against China and Russia. He claimed that the US is better at spying on its adversaries than these two countries. Trump made these remarks during a campaign rally in Iowa ahead of the US midterm elections. Trump recalled being told that China was spying on the United States. He responded by saying Washington was also monitoring Beijing and Moscow. "And we're doing it to them also, but we do it even better, so don't worry about it," Trump told the rally attendees. ## Chinese nationals sentenced for acting as agents The US Department of Justice announced that two Chinese nationals, Liren Lai and Yuance Chen, were sentenced to 30 months in prison. They were convicted of conspiring to act as agents of the Chinese government without notifying the US Attorney General. According to the Department of Justice, the individuals operated under the direction of China's Ministry of State Security. Their activities included facilitating a payment of approximately USD 10,000 in January 2022 and collecting photographs of US military installations. Court documents indicated they also gathered personal information about potential intelligence targets. The FBI arrested Lai and Chen on June 27, 2025, following a counterintelligence investigation. ## What the coverage left out None of the right-rated reports printed below mention the specific date of the US midterm elections, which Trump referenced as being imminent. The digests from Korrespondent.net, Tribune India, aninews.in, and news-pravda.com do not include details about the two Chinese nationals sentenced for acting as agents of the Chinese government, nor do they mention the USD 10,000 payment or the collection of photographs of US military installations. ## Who covered it Shares of the 7 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 14% (1) - Centre: 15% (1) - Right: 71% (5) 1 of 8 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-11-02T07:15:14.082679+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 11 times; 1 check found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-11-02T07:45:17.499Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left No separate framing summary. ### Centre - The centre-rated report from The Economic Times led with Donald Trump's claim that the US conducts intelligence operations against China and Russia and is better at spying than these adversaries. It included Trump's direct quote about the US performing spying operations "even better". The report also detailed the sentencing of two Chinese nationals for acting as agents of the Chinese government, including the amount of money facilitated and the types of photographs collected. ### Right - The right-rated reports from Times of India, Tribune India, aninews.in, news-pravda.com, and Korrespondent.net all focused on Donald Trump's assertion that the US spies on China and Russia and does so more effectively. The Times of India and Tribune India reports included Trump's quote, "We do it even better." The Times of India's full report also detailed the sentencing of two Chinese nationals for acting as agents of the Chinese government, mentioning the USD 10,000 payment and the collection of photographs of US military installations. **Provisional coverage gap:** left. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - veryLow: 1 - mixed: 2 - high: 3 - unknown: 1 - veryHigh: 1 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [JDN - חדשות](https://jdn.co.il/news/2758410) — Trump on Chinese Espionage: "We Spy on Them Too, and We Do It Even Better" - [UNN](https://unn.ua/news/tramp-zaiavyv-shcho-ssha-shpyhuiut-za-rosiieiu-ta-kytaiem-i-robliat-tse-krashche-za-nykh) — Trump Says the US Spies on Russia and China and Does It Better than Them - [Korrespondent.net](https://korrespondent.net/world/4925291-tramp-zaiavyl-chto-ssha-shpyoniat-za-rossyei-y-kytaem) — Trump Claimed that the US Was Spying on Russia and China. - [Times of India](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/we-do-it-even-better-trump-says-us-outperforms-china-russia-in-spy-operations-ahead-of-midterms/articleshow/135441625.cms) — 'We do it even better': Trump says US outperforms China, Russia in spy operations ahead of midterms - [The Economic Times](https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/world-news/we-do-it-even-better-trump-says-us-outperforms-china-russia-in-spy-operations-ahead-of-midterms/articleshow/135441625.cms) — 'We do it even better': Trump says US outperforms China, Russia in spy operations ahead of midterms - [Tribune India](https://tribuneindia.com/news/usa-news/we-do-it-even-better-trump-says-us-outperforms-china-russia-in-spy-operations-ahead-of-midterms) — We do it even better: Trump says US outperforms China, Russia in spy operations ahead of midterms - The Tribune - [aninews.in](https://aninews.in/news/world/us/we-do-it-even-better-trump-says-us-outperforms-china-russia-in-spy-operations-ahead-of-midterms20261102053301) — "We do it even better": Trump says US outperforms China, Russia in spy operations ahead of midterms - [news-pravda.com](https://news-pravda.com/russia/2026/11/01/2711307.html) — Trump said that the United States is collecting intelligence about Russia and China, and they, in his opinion, are doing the same with regard to the American side ## Questions **What did Donald Trump say about US intelligence operations?** Donald Trump stated that the United States conducts intelligence operations against China and Russia. He claimed that the US is better at spying on its adversaries than these countries, using the phrase 'we do it even better'. **When and where did Donald Trump make these remarks?** Donald Trump made these remarks during a campaign rally in Iowa. The rally took place ahead of the US midterm elections. **What action did the US Department of Justice take regarding Chinese nationals?** The US Department of Justice announced that two Chinese nationals, Liren Lai and Yuance Chen, were sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiring to act as agents of the Chinese government without notifying the US Attorney General. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-says-us-spies-better-than-china-and-russia. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Trump says US spies better than China and Russia", https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-says-us-spies-better-than-china-and-russia