Saul Loeb/AFP/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The president lays it all out in a primetime address to the nation.
President Donald Trump told the nation from the White House Thursday that the Chinese government has interfered with American elections and gained access to "sensitive" voter data of tens of millions of Americans.
Trump also accused deep-state bad actors of "deliberately massag[ing]" his daily briefings and even of attempting to run a "shadow government" during his first term to keep the information about "China's election meddling" from him, other lawmakers, the media, and the American public.
Trump reiterated his demand that Congress pass the SAVE America Act and accused Democrats of stalling on the bill because it would keep them from cheating in elections.
The president said evidence of his claims are available for review at the White House website.
"The documents ... show that 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," said the president.
He said the information China collected included "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, which is exactly what was happening."
Trump then said the White House Government Transparency Task Force had gathered evidence that the "deep state" had worked to cover up the Chinese acquisition of U.S. voter data.
"U.S. spy agencies began learning about the compromise of voter registration files in 2020 when they discovered that tens of millions of voter data ... in 18 states have been bought, stolen, or hacked by China. Yet those responsible for sounding the alarm instead kept the information secret and hidden," he said.
He also claimed, citing a CIA document, that during his first term, China sought to influence major American business leaders and persuade them "to turn against the president of the United States." Trump further claimed China tried to buy off seemingly anti-Trump American journalists with "large sums of money" to write even more "negative articles about him."
He even claimed China tried to create bogus ballots in the 2020 election.
"Raw intelligence obtained by the FBI in 2020, yet buried by rogue bureaucrats, stated that China's activities even included an attempt to manufacture illegal ballots for Joe Biden," he added.
He went on to allege that officials had found as many as 287,000 non-citizens were found registered to vote nationwide.
The president also claimed that classified material that was supposed to be destroyed in "burn bags" was never actually destroyed, and he called on the FBI and the DOJ to investigate and to "prosecute those responsible for any crimes."
Trump reiterated his demand that Congress pass the SAVE America Act and accused Democrats of stalling on the bill because it would keep them from cheating in elections.
"The only reason you wouldn't [pass 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," Trump claimed.
The SAVE America Act would require voters to show proof of citizenship to register to vote in elections and require a photo identification to cast a ballot. Left-wing critics of the proposal say it would disadvantage minorities and other Democratic demographics.
The president completed his address by calling on all Americans to pick up a phone and call their representatives to ask for the SAVE America Act to be passed.
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.@POTUS: Newly declassified documents show that 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… pic.twitter.com/S6qudP0QoP
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 17, 2026
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) said he was briefed on the president's speech before the address and described it as possibly the "most important Oval Office address since the Cuban Missile Crisis."
He added, "The time for complacency with China is over."
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