Trump accuses China of stealing 220 million US voter files, orders intelligence declassification

The speech

President Donald Trump delivered a 25-minute primetime address from the White House on Thursday evening, accusing China of conducting "the largest election data piracy operation in history." Several large US television networks, including NBC, ABC, and CNN, chose not to broadcast the speech live. Trump claimed that Beijing illegally obtained at least 220 million American voter files, containing names, addresses, phone numbers, political preferences, and other sensitive registration data. He said the operation began in 2018 and targeted voter records across 18 states, obtained through commercial database purchases, theft, or cyberattacks. The address came amid preparations for a September visit by Xi Jinping, casting a shadow over diplomatic efforts.

China conducted what appears to have been the largest election data piracy operation in history.

Experts note that much of this voter data is already publicly available in many states, undermining the claim of a secret intelligence breach.

Declassification order

Trump announced he had ordered the declassification of intelligence documents that he said reveal "shocking vulnerabilities" in the US election system. He asserted that US intelligence agencies had been gathering evidence since 2020 but withheld it from him and Congress, accusing the "deep state" of a cover-up. Trump claimed the documents show that US election infrastructure is far more vulnerable than previously believed.

However, analysis of the declassified documents showed they did not support his claims. One CIA document concerned elections in Venezuela, not the United States. Another stated that vote counting systems "would be difficult to manipulate on a large enough scale to endanger the election outcome." A third CIA document noted that while Chinese agents had targeted the Biden campaign, Beijing "does not currently intend to covertly interfere to influence the election outcome."

China's response

Before the speech, the Chinese embassy in Washington issued a statement rejecting any interference. It said China considers US elections an internal affair and adheres to the principle of non-interference. Beijing has consistently rejected any allegations of election interference, calling them baseless.

China has never interfered and will never interfere in US presidential elections.

The accusations come at a fragile moment in US-China relations, with a visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the United States planned for September.

Media attacks

Trump also turned his fire on the networks that refused to air his address, demanding their broadcast licenses be revoked. He singled out NBC and ABC, claiming they refused to broadcast the address to conceal election fraud. He argued that a fraud of this scale should trigger license revocation.

NBC and ABC said they would not broadcast the speech... Because they know our system is corrupt and they don't want to expose it. These and other media are part of a conspiracy. They want the fraud to continue.

Longstanding claims

Trump has maintained for years, without presenting convincing evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen from him and that Democrat Joe Biden did not legitimately win. Despite numerous court rulings and audits confirming the integrity of the 2020 vote, Trump continues to repeat the allegations. Experts, independent institutes, and US courts have repeatedly concluded there is no evidence of fraud or irregularities that affected the outcome. The declassified documents, rather than validating his assertions, further undercut them.