US President Donald Trump has again claimed he has evidence of interference in the 2020 presidential election, this time alleging that China obtained 220 million US voter records.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday evening, Trump repeated claims that the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden, was compromised. He has repeatedly alleged that the election was stolen, despite numerous court rulings rejecting claims of widespread electoral fraud.
In his latest allegation, Trump claimed China carried out what he described as “the largest compromise of election data in history,” asserting that Beijing gained access to information from 220 million US voter files before the 2020 election.
Trump said he would order an investigation into the alleged Chinese interference and declassify intelligence documents that he claimed reveal significant vulnerabilities in US voting systems.
He further alleged that voter data in 18 states was “bought, stolen or hacked by China” and accused those who allegedly discovered the breach of failing to inform government officials or Congress.
Democrats accused Trump of attempting to undermine confidence in the security of the upcoming November midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress for the remainder of his presidency.
“Let’s be clear—in America, voters choose their leaders, not the other way around,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer wrote on social media following Trump’s remarks.
“Democrats will fight like hell to make sure every American voter can cast their ballot freely, without obstruction or interference from Donald Trump,” he added.
Trump’s claims conflict with previous assessments by US intelligence agencies. A 2021 report by the US National Intelligence Council said it had “high confidence” that China did not interfere in the 2020 presidential election.
“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 report said.
According to the assessment, China likely refrained from interfering because it “did not view either election outcome as being advantageous enough for China to risk blowback if caught.”
Trump’s White House address came after the release of a new Washington Post-Ipsos poll showing his approval rating had fallen to 37%, with many respondents expressing concern over the cost of living and the ongoing war with Iran.
