US President Donald Trump speaks at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at the US Army War College on July 15, 2026 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Saul Loeb AFP | getty images
President Donald Trump has indicated that he plans to raise perceived issues with the US elections during a primetime address to the nation at 9 pm ET on Thursday.
This might be his first time doing this. Trump has consistently claimed to be the victim of a “rigged” and “stolen” election since his loss to former President Joe Biden nearly six years ago, and he has made similar claims about recent contests in which Republicans have lost.
Trump’s decision to headline his election claims coincides with a multi-pronged effort by the president and his allies to reshape US elections ahead of the November midterm elections. Polls show that amid Trump’s declining popularity, Democrats are in favor of recapturing the US House.
Trump is expected to repeat his false claims about the 2020 presidential results, while accusing foreign adversaries, including China, of engaging in election influence operations, administration officials said. now told ms.
Trump has remained silent on specifics about the speech, his first formal address since early April, when he claimed the Iran war – which is still ongoing – is almost over.
But he has repeatedly suggested that his remarks Thursday night will focus on his concerns about the US elections and his plans to overturn them.
Asked about the speech, Trump said at the White House on Tuesday, “This is really huge news and our country has to shape up.” “Without free and fair elections, you have no country.”
White House spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt declined to comment about what Trump would say.
“As always, anonymous sources are speculating about what President Trump will say during his speech on Thursday evening,” he told CNBC. “The truth is, no one knows yet what President Trump will ultimately say, which is why everyone should pay attention.”
A I asked monday night interview On Newsmax to preview the address, Trump cited last month’s Los Angeles mayoral primary election as an example of a “rigged” race.
Trump made baseless claims mass voting fraud He joined the race before his preferred candidate, former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, officially lost.
“Our elections are crooked and we have to fix them,” Trump told Newsmax.
The way to do this, Trump insists, is for Congress to pass the “Save America Act,” a controversial bill that intends to crack down on non-citizens interfering in US elections by requiring photo identification to vote and proof of citizenship to register, among other provisions. Opponents say the measure would disenfranchise voters, particularly those who are low-income or people of color.
Federal law already requires citizenship to vote in US elections, and the data shows some examples In which ballots are cast by non-citizens.
But Trump has made the elections bill his top priority before the next election. He has also refused to sign other legislation until the Save America Act reaches his desk. And his allies in the House have blocked other measures from reaching the president as they press for passage of the Save America Act, which does not have the votes to clear Congress.
Trump’s Republican Party wants to retain its majority in the House and Senate even after the midterms, but it is facing major challenges. The party that holds the White House historically performs poorly in midterm elections, and Democrats aim to take advantage of that Surveys have shown Americans have negative views on the economy, the Iran war, and Trump himself.
Trump’s election efforts
People vote during the primary election at the Brooklyn Museum in New York, US on June 23, 2026.
Eduardo Munoz | reuters
Trump has tried to challenge the election results, using every lever at his disposal to oppose him.
After his 2020 election loss, Trump and his allies filed dozens of lawsuits challenging the states’ tallies, but none overturned the results and no credible evidence of election-flipping fraud was presented.
Efforts to overturn the 2020 results culminated in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the center of the US government and forced lawmakers to temporarily flee their chambers for safety. Trump later pardoned or commuted the sentences of almost all defendants involved in the riot.
In late January, an elections office in Georgia – a top target of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 race – was raided by the FBI, which was demanding 2020 election records. Trump’s then-director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was seen in that raid.
After Gabbard announced her resignation in May, Trump chose federal housing regulator chief Bill Pulte as her acting replacement.
Pulte, who has gained a reputation as a loyal attack dog for Trump, is expected to join the president for the speech, as MS Now reported earlier.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has filed lawsuits in several states seeking to obtain detailed voter registration data. The DOJ has argued that it needs the information to ensure compliance with federal election laws. There have been more than a dozen such cases rejected by federal judges As yet.