US President Donald Trump has alleged that China interfered in the 2020 election, claiming Beijing unlawfully accessed voter information, as he declassified what he called "critical intelligence" revealing vulnerabilities in US election infrastructure.
Trump's Allegations and Declassification
During a prime-time speech on Thursday, July 16, Trump declared he was instantly declassifying and unveiling "critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in election infrastructure." He stated, "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." He added, "Just as disturbingly, this vital information has for many years been covered up and hidden from you."
Trump claimed China obtained names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences, and other sensitive data needed to register to vote, which he said could be used for "nefarious activities." Notably, voter information is generally accessible public record in most states.
Context of the 2020 Election
Trump has long maintained that his defeat to Joe Biden was due to voter fraud. Biden secured the election with 306 electoral votes and 51.3% of the national popular vote, while Trump obtained 232 electoral votes and 46.8% of the popular vote.
In January 2021, US intelligence compiled a report that determined there was no foreign meddling in the 2020 election. The report, released publicly 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." It concluded that "it would be difficult for a foreign actor to manipulate election processes at scale without detection."
Trump's Previous Statements
Before his speech, Trump told reporters it would contain "really big news" about election security, saying, "It doesn't get bigger, because without free and fair elections, you don't have a country."
