Key facts
- President Donald Trump will deliver a primetime address on Thursday.
- The speech is expected to focus on elections and may revisit debunked conspiracy theories.
- Trump has been advocating for tighter federal voting rules.
- He has previously made unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.
- Trump has called for scrutiny of recent primary election counts.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to deliver a primetime address this week, which he stated will focus on elections, potentially revisiting unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about his 2020 defeat. The speech is set for Thursday at 9 p.m. and comes as Trump escalates calls for Republicans to enact stricter federal voting regulations ahead of the November midterm elections.
Trump has been secretive about the speech's content, only hinting at "really big news" and "a very big announcement." He has previously used presidential addresses for political purposes, including blaming Democrats for economic issues. This address, however, is seen as an effort to amplify election falsehoods to bolster Republican prospects in the midterms.
His focus on election integrity is not new; it dates back to 2016. After winning that election, he established a voting integrity commission that ultimately disbanded without finding evidence of widespread fraud. Following his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump made similar claims of cheating, notably pressuring Georgia's secretary of state to "find 11,780 votes." Despite numerous audits and reviews, many conducted by Republicans, no significant fraud has been uncovered in the 2020 election.
Trump has also recently repeated baseless claims of voter fraud in the Los Angeles mayoral primary, prompting federal prosecutors to open fraud investigations in California. He has consistently pushed for legislation requiring voter ID and limiting mail-in voting. Earlier this year, FBI agents seized materials from election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, related to the 2020 election.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore criticized Trump's focus on past elections, calling it a "strategy for losers" and suggesting voters are tired of discussing events from years ago. Trump has also targeted states with mail-in ballot options and recently removed members of the federal Election Assistance Commission who resisted his proposed voter verification requirements.