Donald Trump used a primetime televised address to launch a wide-ranging and unverified attack on the integrity of the US electoral system, accusing China of interfering in his 2020 defeat and describing the process as "catastrophically" unfair.
In a 25-minute speech, the president cast doubt on the fairness and trustworthiness of US elections, saying they were vulnerable to foreign interference. Democrats warned that he was trying to sow confusion, spread misinformation and lay the groundwork to challenge the results of the upcoming congressional midterm elections.
Major US television networks split on whether to air the address live. CNN, ABC and NBC declined, while CBS, Fox News and MS Now (formerly MSNBC) aired at least large portions. Analysis suggests the release of new papers, without smoking-gun evidence, was a classic Trump strategy of flooding the zone with information to muddy the waters.
In a separate move, senior Trump officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, hosted a gathering of 66 nations to discuss the supposed threat of leftwing political violence. Rubio described leftists as "an encroaching darkness" and "enemies of civilisation", while no mention was made of rightwing attacks such as the 6 January Capitol riot.
Other developments include American forces boarding a ship in the Gulf of Oman as part of a renewed blockade of Iran's ports, and US airstrikes expanding to bridges, prompting Iranian fire on Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. Officials are also investigating a Taco Bell lettuce supplier as a potential source of a cyclosporiasis outbreak, and a White House teleprompter operator has been suspended over alleged bets on Trump speeches.
