Vice President Joe Biden said the U.S. is "sending a message" to Russia in retaliation for what the U.S. calls cyberattacks meant to destabilize the U.S. election.
The Obama administration has formally accused the Russians of hacking the Democratic National Committee's emails as a means of interfering with the election. In addition, U.S. officials told CNN there is mounting evidence the Russians are behind the WikiLeaks release of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's emails.
"Why haven't we sent a message yet to [Vladimir] Putin?" Meet The Press host Chuck Todd asked in an interview airing on Sunday.
Biden smiled and paused before answering.
"We're sending a message," he said. "We have the capacity to do it, and the message will be sent—he'll know it, and it'll be at the time of our choosing and under the circumstances that have the greatest impact."
Biden said he was not concerned about Americans not accepting election results in the wake of possible Russian interference.
"We will be proportional in what we do," he said.
"So a message is going to be sent. Will the public know it?" Todd asked.
"Hope not," Biden said.
In 2012, Mitt Romney referred to Russia as the nation's top geopolitical foe and was roundly criticized by President Obama and liberal media members. Biden said it showed Romney was "mired in a Cold War mindset."