Trump Speech Might Focus On Foreign Election Interference From a Top Rival: Report

President Donald Trump will reportedly discuss previously undisclosed meddling by China in U.S. elections in his prime time speech on Thursday.

CBS News reported Trump's speech, planned for 9 p.m. EST, will include allegations that Beijing compromised U.S. voter data. The network claimed that Trump will assert the CIA knew about the extent of the activity but failed to disclose it to him during his first term.

Trump has not publicly disclosed the nature of the primetime address, only stating on social media that the address would be occurring.

When asked by the outlet about the topic of the address, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "As usual, anonymous sources are speculating about what President Trump will say during his speech on Thursday evening. The truth is, nobody knows yet what President Trump will ultimately say, which is why everyone should tune in."

According to the network, Trump will be joined by security officials including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte, FBI Director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

There have been repeated investigations and indictments regarding foreign governments' meddling in U.S. elections since 2016.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Russia attempted to influence the election in Trump's favor. Their activities included attempting to access U.S. election infrastructure as well as hacking computers of people involved in the 2016 election.

Ultimately, 12 Russian military officers were indicted for various charges including computer hacking conspiracy, document theft, and the staged release of those documents.

There are also reports of attempted election interference during the 2020 election cycle.

In March 2021, the National Intelligence Council declassified and released a 15-page report that documented actions of foreign governments in related to 2020 election. That report stated that some foreign governments conducted influence campaigns, but unlike what Russia did in 2016, those activities did not involve attacks on the "technical" aspects of the election such as voter registration or vote casting.

The report stated that, like in 2016, Russian President Putin preferred Trump to win and authorized a range of Russian government organizations to "denigrate" President Biden's candidacy and the Democratic Party. Iran was singled out as preferring Biden and attempting to "undercut" Trump's reelection prospects.

In October 2021, two men were indicted related to Iran's "multi-faceted campaign aimed at influencing and interfering with the United States 2020 Presidential Election."

According to the report, other foreign actors—including Lebanese Hizballah, Cuba, and Venezuela—took some steps to attempt to influence the 2020 election.

In 2024, there were numerous reports of foreign governments attempting to influence the election. The New York Times reported that Iran was one of the most active meddlers in that election. In August 2024, NBC News reported that Iranian hackers had targeted the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns.

China and Russia also, once engaged in various activities meant to influence the election in 2024. The Associated Press reported that China's Spamouflage created a network of fake social media accounts meant to mimic U.S. voters in an attempt to influence public opinion. Russia also stepped up its digital propaganda, specifically promoting isolationism in the U.S. as it continued its war in Ukraine, the New York Times reported.