(AFP) – US President Donald Trump will give a primetime address to the nation on Thursday that is expected to focus on his false claims that he won the 2020 presidential election. Trump has said he will unveil “really big news” about “free and fair elections” — but said the speech at 9 pm (0100 GMT Friday) would also cover unspecified other subjects.
They are expected to include Iran, as the United States steps up strikes to curb Tehran’s ability to hit the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump threatens wider attacks unless the Islamic Republic returns to talks. An air of mystery has hung over the speech since Trump announced it on Monday, with the White House declining to give any details at all on what the 80-year-old might say.
“The truth is, nobody knows yet what President Trump will ultimately say, which is why everyone should tune in,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told CBS News. CBS reported that part of Trump’s speech would touch on previously unreported allegations of Chinese meddling in US elections, including that it compromised US voter data. It said he would also raise claims that the Central Intelligence Agency knew about the Chinese actions and failed to share the information with Trump during his first term as president.
The heads of the CIA, FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Department of Homeland Security have been invited to be present while Trump gives the speech, CBS said.
– ‘Very big’ –
Trump has long been obsessed with his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden six years ago — months later he whipped up supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The Republican billionaire has, in recent months, stepped up his unproven accusations of alleged attempts by Democrats to rig November’s crucial midterm elections.
The Democrats have fired back at Trump, saying he is trying to lay the ground to meddle in the midterms, in which Republicans are at risk of losing control of Congress. They have pointed to Republican attempts to redraw electoral districts to favor themselves, as well as last week’s sacking of the final two Democrats on a federal agency that oversees fair polls.
“What we’re going to be talking about Thursday is — it doesn’t get bigger because without free and fair elections, you don’t have a country,” Trump said on Tuesday when asked about the speech. “We’ll be discussing other things too, but it’s going to be a very big announcement.”
Trump could face a third impeachment trial if Democrats seize control of the House of Representatives in the midterms. He was impeached twice in his first term — including for alleged incitement of the January 6 riots. His last major televised address to the nation was on April 1, when he gave his first full public justification of the Iran war more than a month after the US-Israeli military campaign began.
– Danny KEMP
© 2024 AFP
