President Donald Trump recently delivered a primetime address focusing on his persistent concerns regarding the 2020 election results. During his nearly 30-minute speech, Trump asserted that foreign nations, particularly China, interfered in the election. He also suggested that elements within the U.S. government, referred to as the “deep state,” withheld crucial information from him and the public.
Trump cited declassified and partially redacted intelligence documents, some dating back several years. He presented these materials without clearly distinguishing between potential Chinese plans and actions confirmed by analysts. “Our elections were left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen, and the trust of the American people was lost,” Trump stated on July 16, though he offered no specific evidence of altered votes or election outcomes.
Concluding his remarks, Trump urged lawmakers to pass the SAVE America Act. This proposed legislation would mandate that voters present government-issued photo identification to cast a ballot and provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, to register to vote. The bill currently faces opposition in the Senate, with critics arguing it could disenfranchise voters and create undue burdens on a constitutional right.
Pamela Smith, president of Verified Voting, a nonpartisan organization specializing in voting technology, highlighted the existing safeguards in U.S. elections. These include pre-election equipment testing and established procedures for ballot handling. Smith noted that most states utilize paper ballots, which she described as the most critical safeguard for verifying voter intent.
Trump’s address largely omitted judicial rulings, intelligence assessments, and expert opinions that have concluded there was no direct foreign interference in the 2020 election process. He also criticized certain news networks for not broadcasting his speech live on their main channels. However, this practice is not unprecedented; major networks aired reruns or game shows during a 2022 address by then-President Biden, who accused Trump and Republicans of undermining American democracy.
A closer examination of Trump’s claims about Chinese interference in the 2020 election follows:
### China’s Acquisition of Voter Registration Records: A Limited Indication of Interference
Trump began his address by detailing what he described as a “nefarious” Chinese operation to obtain U.S. voter records. He claimed that China illicitly acquired 220 million U.S. voter files, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and political affiliations, labeling it an “unprecedented election security nightmare.”
Documents released by the White House indicated that voter registration information from 2013-2021 was publicly available for download from commercial websites and that China appeared to have downloaded this data in 2022. While the documents suggested this data could theoretically be used for election influence operations, experts in election data stated that acquiring such information is common.
Ryan Macias, an election security and technology expert with previous federal government experience under multiple administrations, commented, “Just because they have voter registration data does not mean that state or local voter registration databases or infrastructure have been breached. This data is information that can be legally purchased by certain members of the public.”
### The “Deep State” Allegation and Released Intelligence
Trump alleged that members of the “deep state” actively concealed and downplayed information about China’s alleged election meddling from him and the American public. This claim is misleading.
The intelligence community provided Trump with a classified report on foreign interference on January 7, 2021. Two months later, under the Biden administration, the National Intelligence Council released a declassified version of this report. The declassified assessment concluded that China had considered, but not implemented, influence operations intended to alter the election’s outcome, with analysts expressing high confidence in this finding.
The report did include a dissenting view from the National Intelligence Officer for Cyber, who believed China attempted to undermine Trump’s reelection primarily through social media and public statements. This official suggested some efforts aimed to indirectly influence candidates and voter preferences. However, this minority view explicitly stated there was “no information suggesting China tried to interfere with election processes.”
John Ratcliffe, who was the director of national intelligence at the time, supported this minority view. The documents released by the White House on July 16 did reveal internal disagreements within the Trump administration regarding China in 2020, but these disagreements were already reflected in the 2021 report. The intelligence community does not routinely publish all records due to the sensitive nature of the information they contain, which can include details about sources or ongoing investigations.
### China’s Election Preferences: A Complex Landscape
Trump asserted that the Chinese government desired his defeat due to his policies on tariffs and military investment. A CIA note, released alongside Trump’s speech, indicated that by mid-2018, the Chinese Communist Party’s policy was to utilize elements opposed to the U.S. President to reduce his vote count and prevent his reelection. The CIA note stated that China was working to influence the 2018 and 2020 election results.
China analyzed the 2016 election outcomes and identified states potentially impacted by tariffs, aiming to encourage lobbying efforts from those sectors. The country also extended invitations to former U.S. government officials and academics for paid speaking engagements in China.
A National Intelligence Council assessment from August 2020 also suggested that China preferred Trump to lose. It noted that China “might attempt to more directly thwart the President’s reelection, including by leaking information or through online-influence network.”
However, the 2021 report clarified that China did not view either Trump or Biden winning as sufficiently advantageous to risk engagement in overt meddling. Beijing perceived a bipartisan consensus against China in the United States and anticipated challenges regardless of which candidate won the presidency.
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