US President Donald Trump’s primetime address on Thursday in which he accused China of interfering in the 2020 election he lost, and made an emphatic punt for his stalled SAVE America Act, has prompted concerns among Democrats and voting rights groups that he is laying the groundwork to tamper with the results of November’s midterms.
His speech followed the release of a new poll from Washington Post-Ipsos, which indicated his approval rating had dropped to 37% with many voters being pessimistic about the cost of living and the ongoing war with Iran.
Trump was flanked by several members of his top team as he gave his address, but journalists were unable to put questions to the president.
Trump alleged “shocking vulnerabilities” in American voting systems in the half-hour speech, claiming he had declassified hundreds of intelligence files which supported his claims that Beijing had tried to sway the election in Joe Biden’s favour.
The president’s comments contradict previous US intelligence assessments. A 2021 report by the US National Intelligence Council said it had “high confidence” that China did not interfere in the 2020 presidential election.
That report stated: “We assess that China did not deploy interference efforts and considered but did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the US presidential election.” The Council speculated this was because China “did not view either election outcome as being advantageous enough for China to risk blowback if caught”.
China’s foreign ministry strongly denied the allegations of Chinese meddling in the 2020 presidential election, saying they were “entirely fabricated”.
Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Trump’s claims are “malicious smears” which had “long been proven to be groundless”.
At home, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer posted on social media after the speech: “Let’s be clear – in America, voters choose their leaders, not the other way around.”
Schumer added: “Democrats will fight like hell to make sure every American voter can cast their ballot freely, without obstruction or interference from Donald Trump.”
At the end of his speech, Trump again called for the passing of the SAVE America Act, which bans most mail voting, requires proof of citizenship for voter registration and photo ID to cast a ballot.
That legislation has been stalled in the Senate for months.
Analysts say the November midterms to decide the balance of power in Congress and many state legislatures will be a major test of Trump’s appeal to voters two years after he resoundingly beat the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris to return to the White House.
Recent polling suggests the president is disliked by majorities of voters and his Republican allies are at risk of losing their control of the House of Representatives.
The administration of elections falls to the states, and in a joint statement, the nation’s 24 Democratic governors said: “It’s deeply alarming that President Trump continues to try to undermine free and fair elections. No amount of lies and conspiracy theories can change the fact that our country’s elections have repeatedly been proven to be safe and secure.”
Congressman Thomas Massie, who in May lost his primary in Kentucky after Trump backed his challenger, wrote that the President’s claim of China stealing voter data and US intelligence agencies covering up the theft was “absurd”, because such information was typically publicly available for a fee.
Tiffany Muller, president of advocacy group End Citizens United, warned that the president “tried to sell the American people a lie” because “he wants to take over our elections and rig November for Republicans”.
Muller added: “Republicans are headed for a loss in the midterms because voters are fed up with their corrupt governance that only serves billionaires at the expense of working families. Instead of winning on ideas and providing relief to the American people, he’s trying to change the rules to help his party.”
Sources: BBC, The Guardian
[Image: by photovs]