Trump Claims China 'Deep State' Cover-up in Election Interference; Media Skeptical

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that China interfered in the 2020 U.S. presidential election by illegally acquiring information on 220 million American voters. He also asserted that the "deep state" attempted to cover up evidence of this interference. The president released materials he said were collected and analyzed by U.S. administration and intelligence agencies regarding alleged election fraud, but local media reported the content was either previously known or repeated existing conspiracy theories.

During a prime-time address, Trump alleged that China "unlawfully secured" files on 220 million U.S. voters, which he described as potentially the "largest in history." He claimed these files contained sensitive data, including voter names, addresses, phone numbers, party preferences, and voter registration details, necessary for "immoral activities." Trump further criticized what he called "deep state" members within former U.S. intelligence agencies for allegedly concealing and downplaying information about China's election interference. He also accused Chinese authorities of bribing U.S. journalists and urged judicial authorities to investigate and prosecute them.

As a specific example of election fraud, Trump pointed to the 2020 election in Michigan, alleging that individuals used others' names to apply for voter registration or registered people who did not exist. He cited a Department of Homeland Security investigation that reportedly found 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote, suggesting the number would be much larger when considering data from Democratic-leaning states that refused to provide it. Trump also stated that U.S. adversaries, including Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, have the capability to compromise U.S. election infrastructure, urging the swift passage of the "SAVE America Act" to strengthen voter qualifications.

However, major U.S. media outlets such as The New York Times (NYT) and CNN reported that Trump's speech largely consisted of previously known information or conspiracy theories from the far-right. The NYT stated, "No public evidence has ever been found of foreign forces interfering in the voting or vote-counting process in recent elections, including the 2020 election," adding that this has been publicly confirmed by numerous senior officials who served under Trump. CNN countered that while intelligence agencies have expressed concerns about the ability of countries like Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea to manipulate election data, they have also pointed out that these countries lack the capacity for comprehensive interference in the U.S. electoral system. In response to a request for comment on Trump's speech, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. stated, "China has never interfered in U.S. presidential elections and will not do so in the future."