US President Donald Trump, in his address to the nation from the White House, drew attention to the vulnerabilities in the country's election system, alleging that China has seized the data of 220 million voters since 2020.
US President Donald Trump criticized the country's current election system during his address to the nation at the White House. Trump announced that intelligence reports revealing critical vulnerabilities in the election infrastructure had been declassified and released, stating that the system is vulnerable to cyberattacks and foreign interference. Arguing that this information had been hidden from the public for years, Trump pointed to former Democratic presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama as responsible for this cover-up attempt.
Trump claimed that China committed the largest election data breach in history by seizing the data of 220 million US voters since 2020, and alleged that certain units within US intelligence made a conscious effort to cover up and downplay China's interference. Trump stated that the Chinese government paid large sums of money to US journalists to produce negative news about him, and that, according to FBI intelligence, these interference activities extended to attempts to produce illegal ballots in favor of Biden.
CALL FOR INVESTIGATION INTO INTELLIGENCE UNITS
Announcing that he had instructed the National Intelligence Directorate and the CIA to investigate how and why the existing information was concealed, Trump called for those involved in the process to be dismissed and, if necessary, prosecuted. Trump also emphasized that, in addition to Russia, Iran, and North Korea, non-state groups also have the capacity to threaten US election infrastructure, and shared that, according to Department of Homeland Security reviews, approximately 278,000 foreign nationals registered to vote had been identified.
'OUR SYSTEM IS WORSE THAN THIRD-WORLD COUNTRIES'
Stating that the emerging picture points to an indefensible election system, Trump noted that hundreds of millions of voter files are in the hands of foreign governments, and vote-counting machines are vulnerable to cyberattacks and manipulation. Describing the US election system as much worse than any third-world country, Trump underscored the need for a bipartisan solution to build a secure and fair structure.
Trump also called on Congress to ensure the reliability of the midterm elections to be held in November, adding that the SAVE America Act, which mandates voter identification and restricts mail-in voting, should be approved urgently.