Trump Alleges 'Deep State' Cover-Up of Chinese Election Meddling in Primetime Address
The president declassified documents and renewed disputed 2020 fraud claims, prompting Democratic pushback and a network snub.
President Donald Trump used a primetime address from the White House on Thursday night to allege that a "deep state" within the U.S. intelligence community suppressed evidence that the Chinese Communist Party interfered in the 2020 election, according to the Washington Examiner and Fox News.
Speaking from the East Room, Trump declassified a batch of documents he said supported the claims and posted them on the White House website, the Washington Examiner reported. "Good evening. Before we begin, I'm proud to report that our country is safer, stronger, and far wealthier than it has ever been before. We are doing great," Trump said, according to the full text of the speech released by the Washington Examiner. Fox News reported Trump said intelligence officials failed to sound the alarm as China penetrated U.S. voter rolls and accused them of running a "shadow government" to conceal it.
The president called for voter ID requirements and citizenship verification as he pushed for passage of the SAVE America Act, which faces a deadline in the Senate, Fox News reported. The Hill and NPR both noted the address extended Trump's yearslong effort to relitigate his 2020 loss; NPR said Trump has spread disinformation about election integrity "for much of his political career."
Democrats swiftly rejected the claims. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, said in a statement reported by the Hill, "You have to be a special kind of stupid to believe this bull----." Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., separately questioned why CIA Director John Ratcliffe — who oversaw election intelligence as Trump's first-term director of national intelligence — had not previously raised the alarm, the Washington Examiner reported.
ABC, NBC and CNN declined to carry the address live on their broadcast networks, instead directing viewers to streaming platforms or live blogs, according to the Hill and Fox News.
The speech came the same day the Department of Homeland Security alleged more than 256,000 noncitizens may be registered to vote across California, New Jersey, Nevada and Pennsylvania, Fox News reported. Former White House attorney Ty Cobb told PBS NewsHour the address appeared aimed at setting the stage for Trump to declare an emergency around the midterm elections.
— Compiled from reporting by Fox News, the Hill, NPR, PBS NewsHour and the Washington Examiner.