Plans for a rare TV address tonight had already raised concerns that Trump, who is staring down a pummelling in the congressional elections just months away, will try to undermine faith in the election – or even attempt to cancel it altogether
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has refused to commit to Donald Trump accepting the results of November’s midterm elections. It comes ahead of a prime time address to the nation by the President, which will focus on “the integrity of elections.”
The rare TV address had already raised concerns that Trump, who is staring down a pummelling in the congressional elections just months away, will try to undermine faith in the election – or even attempt to cancel it altogether.
“I think the American people will be relieved to hear what they are hearing from the President of the United States, his commitment to transparency and the focus on the integrity of our elections tonight. I think all Republicans and Democrats should recognise this is a non-partisan issue. If we don’t have safe and secure elections in our country, then we cannot have a country.”
Elections in America are safe and secure. Repeated investigations and audits have proven Trump’s repeated claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him to be untrue. Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden by more than 7 million popular votes and 74 electoral votes. Asked if President Trump would accept the result of November’s election, Ms Leavitt said: “Look, you should tune in to the President’s speech tonight before you jump to conclusions over what’s in the speech.”
House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said: “None of the things that Trump has said — or may say later on today — with respect to election interference have any merit.”
Ahead of Thursday’s speech, Jeffries was asked whether China may have interfered in US elections. The Democratic leader said he drew from the work of the House Intelligence Committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, whose op-ed published Thursday in The New York Times restated the findings of US intelligence after recent elections.
Himes wrote that U.S. intelligence said that there are “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 may try to cherry-pick unverified information and present it as explosive new theories of election wrongdoing.
Jeffries said Trump is “the one fanning the flames of conspiracy theories.”
Trump’s address is scheduled for 9pm ET, which is 2am in the UK.