Topline
President Donald Trump said he is releasing classified material he claims shows China stole voter files starting in the 2020 election—making the allegations in a highly anticipated primetime address as he has continued disparaging the U.S. elections system despite no evidence of widespread fraud.
Key Facts
Trump said the intelligence, gathered by a White House task force and the president’s intelligence advisory board, shows China “carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history” by allegedly accessing 220 million U.S. voter files.
He alleged the so-called “deep state,” a term widely used by MAGA Republicans to describe a purported secretive group of Democrats and high powered individuals, covered up China’s involvement.
Trump has repeatedly made misleading claims about the 2020 election and Forbes has not independently reviewed the documents Trump said he would release or verified the claims Trump made about elections fraud in his address Thursday.
CNN reported the documents Trump referred to were reviewed and the allegations they contain have been known for years.
Trump began the speech touting his second term policies, including his signature tax law, declining inflation, tighter border security, and his TrumpAccounts investment accounts and TrumpRx pharmaceutical supermarket, then quickly pivoted to the topic of elections integrity.
Trump made sweeping allegations discrediting the integrity of the U.S. elections systems, but stopped short of claiming the alleged Chinese meddling altered the results of the 2020 election.
Chief Critic
“It’s the rantings of a pathetic, unserious person. . . the president knows virtually nothing about the American elections system,” Rep. Joseph Morelle, D-N.Y. told C-SPAN. “He has no idea what he’s talking about . . . there is no basis in fact to almost anything he said.”
tangent
Trump reiterated his push for the Senate to pass a new law, known as the SAVE Act, that would require documentary proof of citizenship to vote. The bill has been stalled, because it needs some Democratic support to break the 60-vote filibuster threshold, which Trump has urged the Senate to abolish in order to more easily pass legislation.
surprising fact
Several major networks, including ABC and NBC, and CNN said late Thursday they would not air the speech on its primary channels, multiple outlets reported. The outlets did not say why they opted against carrying the speech, but some Democrats called for a TV boycott, citing concerns Trump would spread misleading claims about the U.S. elections system just months before the midterms in November.
Key Background
Trump was widely expected to make new allegations of fraud related to the 2020 election after his previous claims of malfeasance. He has long pointed to allegations of voting machine manipulation and mail-in ballot fraud as the reason for his loss to former President Joe Biden, though his efforts to overturn the election results repeatedly floundered in court due to a lack of evidence. Multiple outlets reported Trump would make new claims that China meddled in the 2020 election, despite intelligence officials previously finding “no indications” of any foreign interference that could have changed the results. Trump announced earlier this week he would deliver the speech and teased “really, really big news” in remarks to reporters Tuesday, but few details about the content of his speech were made public before the address. Trump acknowledged he would touch on “free and fair elections” and said the speech would “concern that subject” when asked by a reporter if he would discuss election machines and integrity. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday, “the truth is, nobody knows yet what President Trump will ultimately say, which is why everyone should tune in.” She said it was “very possible” Trump would also mention the economy and war with Iran.
further reading
Trump May Target China In Primetime Election Security Speech: What We Know (Forbes)
