White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has declined to commit to President Donald Trump accepting the results of the November midterm elections. The refusal came during a press briefing on Thursday, hours before Trump is scheduled to deliver a rare prime-time address to the nation focused on "the integrity of elections."
Concerns Over Election Undermining
The planned televised speech has already sparked concerns that Trump, facing a potential electoral defeat in the upcoming congressional elections, may attempt to undermine public faith in the electoral process or even call for the election to be postponed or canceled. Polls suggest Democrats are poised to gain seats in both the House and Senate.
When asked directly whether Trump would accept the outcome of the November elections, Leavitt responded: "Look, you should tune in to the President's speech tonight before you jump to conclusions over what's in the speech." She added that the American people would be "relieved" to hear Trump's commitment to transparency and election integrity, describing it as a non-partisan issue.
Historical Context of Election Claims
Trump has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. Investigations and audits at both state and federal levels have consistently found no evidence of widespread fraud. Joe Biden defeated Trump in 2020 by more than 7 million popular votes and 74 electoral votes.
House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries dismissed any allegations of election interference, stating: "None of the things that Trump has said — or may say later on today — with respect to election interference have any merit." Jeffries accused Trump of "fanning the flames of conspiracy theories."
Intelligence Community Findings
Ahead of Trump's speech, Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, published an op-ed in The New York Times reiterating that U.S. intelligence agencies found "no indications that any foreign actor attempted to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections by altering any technical aspect of the voting process." Himes warned that Trump might cherry-pick unverified information to present as explosive new theories of election wrongdoing.
Trump's address is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET (2:00 a.m. BST), and will be broadcast live from the White House.
