Global

United States President Donald Trump has delivered an extraordinary prime time television speech, alleging government “cover-ups” and “vulnerability” in the nation’s electoral system. He made broad accusations about a “deep state” conspiracy involving his Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and he lashed out at familiar foes, including the news media and China. For years, Trump has spread baseless claims that his loss in the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” and “stolen”. Trump stopped short of repeating his false claim that he had, in fact, won that race. But in his remarks, he sought to raise suspicion about the election’s outcome, pointing to declassified government documents. Those files, however, painted a more nuanced picture than Trump portrayed, and they failed to substantiate his claims of a conspiracy. After the speech, Democrats criticised Trump for attempting to mislead the public and reduce confidence in the US electoral system, with months to go until the November midterm election.

United States President Donald Trump has delivered an extraordinary prime time television speech, alleging government “cover-ups” and “vulnerability” in the nation’s electoral system. He made broad accusations about a “deep state” conspiracy involving his Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and he lashed out at familiar foes, including the news media and China. For years, Trump has spread baseless claims that his loss in the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” and “stolen”. Trump stopped short of repeating his false claim that he had, in fact, won that race. But in his remarks, he sought to raise suspicion about the election’s outcome, pointing to declassified government documents. Those files, however, painted a more nuanced picture than Trump portrayed, and they failed to substantiate his claims of a conspiracy. After the speech, Democrats criticised Trump for attempting to mislead the public and reduce confidence in the US electoral system, with months to go until the November midterm election.