Trump to use prime-time speech to press election claims

President Donald Trump is scheduled to deliver a national address at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday focused on U.S. elections, with MS NOW reporting that he is expected to revisit his false claim that he won the 2020 presidential race. The speech comes less than four months before the November midterms, as CNBC reported that polls show Democrats favored to regain control of the U.S. House.

The address gives Trump a high-profile forum for election grievances at a time when his administration and congressional allies are pressing for changes to voting rules. It will be his first formal national address since early April, when he said the Iran war was close to ending, although the conflict continues, according to CNBC.

Trump has offered few details about the remarks. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told CNBC that unidentified sources were speculating about the speech and said “nobody knows yet” what Trump will ultimately say.

Trump has indicated that election administration will be central to the address. Asked at the White House on Tuesday about the planned speech, he said the announcement would be “really, really big news” and added that the country needed to “shape up,” according to CNBC.

Voting bill at the center of the push

Trump has been urging Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require photo identification to vote and proof of citizenship to register, among other provisions. Supporters describe the measure as a way to prevent noncitizen participation in elections, while opponents say it would make voting harder for low-income voters and people of color, CNBC reported.

Federal law already bars noncitizens from voting in federal elections. The Bipartisan Policy Center has said documented cases of ballots cast by noncitizens are rare.

CNBC reported that Trump has made the bill his leading legislative priority before the midterms and has refused to sign other legislation until the measure reaches his desk. House allies have also slowed other bills while trying to advance the voting legislation, which CNBC reported currently lacks enough support to pass Congress.

In a Monday interview on Newsmax, Trump cited the Los Angeles mayoral primary as an example of what he called a “rigged” election. CNBC reported that he had made unsupported claims of widespread ballot fraud in that contest before his preferred candidate, Spencer Pratt, officially lost.

Broader election efforts

MS NOW reported that Trump is expected to allege that foreign adversaries, including China, have conducted election influence operations. CNBC reported that acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte is expected to appear with Trump for the speech, citing prior MS NOW reporting.

Trump has repeatedly disputed election outcomes he opposed. After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, he and his allies filed dozens of lawsuits contesting state results, but the outcomes were not overturned and no credible evidence of fraud sufficient to change the result was presented, according to CNBC.

The effort to block certification of Biden’s victory preceded the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, when Trump supporters entered the building and lawmakers were forced to leave their chambers temporarily. CNBC reported that Trump later pardoned or commuted the sentences of nearly all defendants connected to the riot.

The administration has also pursued election records through federal agencies. CNBC reported that the FBI raided an election office in Georgia in January seeking records tied to 2020, and that then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was seen at the site. The Justice Department has filed lawsuits in multiple states seeking detailed voter registration data, saying it needs the information to enforce federal election laws. More than a dozen such cases have been dismissed by federal judges, according to the Campaign Legal Center.

Republicans are trying to preserve control of both chambers of Congress in November. CNBC reported that Democrats are seeking to benefit from negative public views reflected in polling on the economy, the Iran war and Trump’s approval ratings.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.