Trump repeats unsubstantiated claims of election fraud and Chinese interference
US President Donald Trump, in a televised address to the nation, reiterated claims about the “stolen” 2020 election, China’s role in obtaining voter data, and his refusal to concede, while criticizing media outlets that did not air his speech.
Donald Trump, in his televised address from the White House, again made allegations about a “shocking vulnerability” in the US election system, which he said could serve as grounds for Republicans to challenge the results of the upcoming midterm elections in November. He referred to “stolen elections,” once again refusing to acknowledge his defeat in the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
The president claimed he would declassify a massive amount of intelligence data that, in his view, shows China illegally obtained information on 220 million US voters. “Over the years, starting with the 2020 election cycle, the People’s Republic of China carried out what is considered the largest compromise of election data in history,” Trump said.
He also alleged that in four states, more than 250,000 non-citizens have been registered to vote. These claims have been previously refuted but continue to be spread.
Trump harshly criticized US television networks ABC and NBC for refusing to interrupt their programming to air his address live. He called for revoking their licenses, baselessly asserting that they were involved in attempts at election fraud. “These and others in the media are part of a conspiracy. Such fraud should mean revoking their licenses,” Trump said, adding that the networks use the public airwaves for free.
In his address, Trump barely touched on issues that might matter more to voters, such as the war with Iran and the economy. This was his second address to the nation since April 1, when he first publicly justified the war with Iran.
