US President Donald Trump has alleged that China gained access to American election data, saying his administration would declassify intelligence that he claimed exposes "shocking vulnerabilities" in the country's voting infrastructure.
The announcement marked his latest assertion that the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden, was stolen, while he also argued that US midterm elections remain susceptible to manipulation unless sweeping changes are made to the voting process that would make casting ballots significantly more difficult.
Delivering a televised prime-time address from the White House, Trump said, "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 US voter files," the US leader said in a televised prime-time address from the White House.
Trump also accused what he described as the "deep state" of concealing what he characterized as China's election-related data breach.
"This data loss presents an unprecedented election security nightmare," he said.
According to Trump, the current US election framework does not meet the standards required for a reliable and impartial voting system.
"Every American deserves to know that when they cast their vote, that vote will be counted accurately in a system, and that is to make that system secure -- one where cheating and interference are not just difficult, but virtually impossible," he said.
"Unfortunately, the system we have today falls catastrophically short of that standard. Tonight, I'm announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure. This evidence shows that the election system we have dangerously exposes and really exposes like levels never thought possible to hacking," Trump added.
Claims that Chinese authorities gathered information related to US voters have surfaced before. A 2020 report by the National Intelligence Officer for Cyber, portions of which were declassified in 2022, stated that Chinese intelligence officials examined voter registration records from several US states for the purpose of conducting "public opinion analysis."
At the same time, more than 60 legal challenges filed by Trump and his allies failed to produce any court ruling establishing fraud sufficient to alter the outcome of the 2020 election. Recounts, audits and investigations conducted by his own Justice Department also found no such evidence.
Trump concluded his 24-minute address by pressing lawmakers to approve the SAVE Act. The proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act would require individuals registering to vote to provide documentary proof of US citizenship, a measure that voting rights groups have warned could prevent millions of eligible Americans from voting.
Federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting, and such cases remain rare.
During the speech, Trump also urged authorities to revoke the broadcasting licenses of television networks that chose not to air his prime-time remarks on alleged election fraud live, while suggesting without evidence that they were involved in efforts to influence election outcomes.
"They and others in the media are part of a plot. Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses. They use our public multi-billion-dollar-in-value airwaves for absolutely no money. They pay nothing," he said, calling out ABC and NBC by name.
China rejected Trump's allegations through its embassy in Washington. Responding to the claims, embassy spokesperson Liu Chang said, “China has all along adhered to the principle of non-interference in other's internal affairs. The US election is an internal matter of the U.S. Its outcome is determined by the votes of the American people. China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the US."
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