President Donald Trump has claimed that China played a role in rigging the 2020 US presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden in both the electoral college and popular vote. In a primetime address on July 16, 2026, Trump said he is immediately declassifying and releasing "critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure."
Trump Alleges Hidden Evidence of Foreign Interference
"This evidence shows that the election system we have dangerously exposes and really exposes like levels never thought possible to hacking, exploitation, and foreign interference," Trump said during his address. He added, "Just as disturbingly, this vital information has for many years been covered up and hidden from you."
Trump claimed that China illicitly gained access to US voter information, including "names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences, and other sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities. Which is exactly what was happening." However, voter information is generally accessible public record in most states.
Prior Intelligence Report Contradicts Claims
Trump's allegations contradict a January 2021 US intelligence report, which concluded there was no foreign interference in the 2020 election. The report, issued under Trump's own administration and made public by the Biden administration in March 2021, stated: "We have no indications that any foreign actor attempted to alter any technical aspect of the voting process in the 2020 US elections, including voter registration, casting ballots, vote tabulation, or reporting results."
The report further assessed that "it would be difficult for a foreign actor to manipulate election processes at scale without detection by intelligence collection on the actors themselves, through physical and cyber security monitoring around voting systems across the country, or in post-election audits."
Trump's Longstanding Claims of Voter Fraud
For years, Trump has claimed his loss to Biden was a result of voter fraud. Biden won the election with 306 electoral votes and 51.3% of the national popular vote, while Trump secured 232 electoral votes and 46.8% of the popular vote. Trump said before his address that it would contain "really big news" about election security, telling reporters on Tuesday: "It doesn't get bigger, because without free and fair elections, you don't have a country."
