President Trump is set to address the nation on Thursday night on topics he said will include elections and voting machines, suggesting he is likely to revisit some of the unproven claims he has previously made about Republican losses, particularly his own in 2020. Trump has offered only vague details about the address, scheduled for 9pm. When asked on Tuesday if it would concern "election machines and integrity," Trump said it would "concern that subject" and "we'll have a couple of other things to say also," per the AP. He went on to say that he has "really, really big news and our country has to shape up. But that's what we're going to be talking about Thursday." He added that "it doesn't get bigger because without free and fair elections, you don't have a country."
Despite Trump's comments, the White House on Wednesday suggested that the content of the speech could change. "As usual, anonymous sources are speculating about what President Trump will say during his speech on Thursday evening. The truth is, nobody knows yet what President Trump will ultimately say, which is why everyone should tune in," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Primetime presidential addresses are typically reserved for major milestones or nationally significant events. Trump last used a primetime address in April to speak on the Iran war, a month after it started. Trump also delivered a politically charged primetime speech in December in which he sought to blame the challenging economic climate on Democrats.
It was unclear if TV networks were planning to air the speech or to what extent, per Axios, which calls the lack of clarity "unusual for the morning of the event." Messages to ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, and MS NOW asking about coverage plans were not immediately returned. Democrats warned that Trump was trying to revive false claims of past stolen elections in order to delegitimize the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, in which Trump's Republican Party is facing headwinds. "Tomorrow night, Trump is going to use a primetime address to stoke misleading claims about our elections in order to justify interfering in our midterms. It's on all of us to follow the facts and not accept his constant stream of misdirections and lies," Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner said on X.
On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance bristled when asked if he'd encourage Trump in his Thursday remarks to stay focused on November's midterm elections rather than relitigate past elections. "'The unfounded claims,'" Vance said, repeating the reporter's language. "You're basically assuming an answer in the very question that you ask." "The president is going to talk about a number of things tomorrow night. I'm obviously not going to get ahead of his remarks," Vance said. "But we can talk about a number of the American people's problems. We can solve a number of the American people's problems."
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