President Donald Trump plans to use a rare prime-time address Thursday night to lay out new claims about U.S. elections and voting machines, returning to an issue he has never abandoned since the 2020 election while promising what he calls “really big news.”
The White House has revealed little about the speech beyond its focus on election integrity, but Trump has made clear he views it as one of the biggest announcements of his presidency.
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Speaking with reporters earlier this week, Trump said elections would be the centerpiece.
“It’s really, really big news,” Trump said. “Our country has to shape up… Without free and fair elections, you don’t have a country.”
Declassified records expected to drive the address
Politico reports Trump is expected to announce the declassification of previously unreleased intelligence during what will be a roughly 20-minute address. Three people familiar with the planning told the outlet the White House also hopes the speech will build momentum behind the stalled SAVE America Act, which Trump has been urging Senate Republicans to pass despite lacking enough votes to move it forward.
According to The Washington Post, the presentation could also include claims involving China and Venezuela.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has declined to preview the address, saying reports based on anonymous sources amount to speculation because only the president knows what he will ultimately announce.
Leavitt will be briefing reporters at the White House Thursday afternoon where she may divulge more information.
Five years after losing the 2020 election, Trump continues to argue it was compromised, despite recounts, court rulings and previous U.S. intelligence assessments finding no evidence that votes or voting machines were altered.
Intelligence agencies concluded in 2021 that Russia and Iran sought to influence American voters but found no foreign operation that changed vote totals or manipulated election systems.
Since returning to office, the administration has reopened multiple reviews tied to the 2020 election.
Federal investigators have examined election records in Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin, while intelligence officials have revisited voting machine security. The FBI also seized ballots and other election materials preserved under court order in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of that broader review.
Democrats aren’t waiting for Thursday night
Before Trump delivers the address, Democrats are already trying to define it.
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff said he believes the president could use Thursday night’s speech to justify federal action ahead of the midterms or begin laying the groundwork to challenge election results he does not accept.
“There’s talk that he might try to declare me and Raphael Warnock illegitimate senators. Obviously the president has no power to do that,” Ossoff said during an interview this week on MSNOW. “I expect him to use whatever he puts out there on Thursday as a pretext for either some attempted unconstitutional use of federal power to interfere in the election … or to lay the groundwork for challenging the result.”
Trump’s address is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET from the White House.
Round out your reading
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- After years of denying other elections, MyPillow founder won’t accept his own defeat.
- Gun suppressors sold unregistered for the first time since FDR, but not for everyone.
- Why an over-scrolled generation is turning to ‘grandma hobbies’ for mental health.
- Our personal information is for sale on the internet. We know — we bought it.
