Trump Says U. S. Elections Are at Risk, Blames China - FITSNews
byMARK POWELL***PresidentDonald Trumpclaimed in a White House address on Thursday night (July 17, 2026) that the integrity of U. S. elections is at risk. And he pointed the finger of blame squarely at Beijing. . . .
byMARK POWELL***PresidentDonald Trumpclaimed in a White House address on Thursday night (July 17, 2026) that the integrity of U. S. elections is at risk. And he pointed the finger of blame squarely at Beijing. He accused the Communist country of conducting what he called “the largest compromise of election data in history. ”And, Trump ominously added, “this data loss presents an unprecedented election security nightmare. ”The fact that he was even speaking on election integrity alone was controversial. ABC,CNN, andNBCall declined to carry the remarks, instead sticking with “Press Your Luck,” “The Source with Kaitlin Collins,” and “Surviving Earth,” respectively, as originally scheduled. CBSandMS Nowstarted off carrying it, then cut away before it was finished. Many Washington Republicans were openly jittery about the topic heading into the address. Louisiana SenatorJohn Kennedysummed it up thusly: “If you’re asking me, when moms and dads lie down to sleep at night and can’t, what are they mostly worried about? I would say cost of living. ”***But Trump plowed ahead with election integrity anyway. Speaking from the East Room, about 55 administration luminaries, from Vice PresidentJD Vanceand Secretary of StateMarco Rubioon down to Agriculture SecretaryBrooke Rollins, made up the live audience. He began his 25-minute talk on a note befitting a State of the Union address: a roundup of his administration’s successes. The military is strong, the stock market is up, and illegal border crossings are down. Then he got down to brass tacks. “America is back and doing really well, but we still have a major challenge that must be urgently addressed, because no country can be great without fair and honest elections,” he said. Trump proceeded to recap his lingering grievances with the 2020 election (it’s worth noting he didn’t seem to have problems with the elections preceding and following it, both of which he won). “Over a period of years, starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People’s Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million U. S. voter files,” Trump said. “That information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences, and other sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities. ”***RELATED|SC SUCCESSION DRAMA: FIRST POLL DROPS***As the president was speaking, the White House was posting declassified documents on its website that it claims substantiate Trumps assertions. Chinese officials were also paying close attention to the allegations. A spokesperson for its embassy in Washington said, “China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the United States. ”Trump concluded by demanding that Congress enact what he considers essential legislation. “Congress must pass theSAVE America Act– how easy is that to do, unless you want to cheat. The only reason you wouldn’t do it is you want to cheat because your policies are so bad and your candidates are so pathetic that you can’t get away or can’t get elected any other way. ”Democrats were quick to dismiss both the message and the messenger. “He has no idea what he’s talking about . . . there is no basis in fact to almost anything he said,” New York CongressmanJoseph MorelletoldC-SPAN. Republican reaction was generally supportive, though muted. The exception was theWhite House, which gave the big boss a full-throated pat on the back. As witnessed by communications directorStephen Cheung’s exuberant post-address tweet. “WHAT A SPEECH! We must secure our elections and stop foreign interference. Pass the SAVE AMERICA ACT!”***ABOUT THE AUTHOR…J. Mark Powellis an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him atmark@fitsnews. com. ***SOUND OFF…Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via emailHERE. Got a tip for a story?CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report?CLICK HERE.