President Trump Address to the Nation — Election Integrity Speech — WOWT 6 News

[10:36] Good evening and good evening and thanks for joining us for this special report. [10:43] I'm Nick Weig in the Alert Center. [10:45] Tonight, President Trump will deliver a primetime address from the East Room. [10:49] The exact topic is unclear, but all signs point to election security. [10:54] We're going to give you a live look right now outside the White House, [10:57] where the president will deliver his address shortly after the top of the hour. [11:00] Now, multiple outlets are reporting that the president is expected [11:04] to make claims of election meddling by China to benefit President Biden [11:10] and may go as far as to call the 2020 election of Biden and two Democrat senators in Georgia as illegitimate. [11:17] Of course, there have been countless attempts to prove fraud in the 2020 election, [11:20] but none have produced any meaningful evidence or wrongdoing or improper counting. [11:24] With that in mind, the major networks, including NBC as well as Fox, [11:29] have declined the president's request for primetime coverage, a rare refusal. [11:33] For a preview of what we know and don't know going into the speech, [11:37] now just minutes away, here's Washington correspondent Stephen Gohan. [11:43] The White House says the fact that nobody knows yet what President Donald Trump will ultimately say [11:48] is precisely the reason why everyone should tune in. [11:51] On Tuesday, when reporters asked President Trump if he'll be addressing voting [11:55] and election integrity in that primetime address, this was his response. [11:59] It doesn't get bigger because without free and fair elections, you don't have a country. [12:04] We'll be discussing other things too, but it's going to be a very big announcement. [12:08] While few details have been released, there are multiple reports indicating [12:11] the president may speak about foreign influence or interference in the 2020 election. [12:16] There's also speculation that Georgia may be a focal point. [12:20] The state's Democratic senators appearing concerned the president will question the votes [12:24] that propelled them into office. [12:26] Consider for a moment that we understand the president may be threatening to declare [12:31] sitting United States senators illegitimate. [12:36] If that is the course of action he pursues, he is calling Georgia voters illegitimate. [12:41] Donald Trump is drumming up long-debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 election yet again. [12:50] He is attacking our democracy and Georgia is ground zero. [12:53] Trump has maintained for years that he won the 2020 presidential election, [12:58] despite courts and election officials finding no evidence of widespread fraud. [13:02] Meanwhile, according to Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, [13:07] foreign adversaries do regularly try to influence elections through disinformation, [13:12] but he claims there's no evidence of interference, votes being changed, [13:16] or a significant number of non-citizens voting. [13:18] Matter of fact, some called it the most successful and secure election in our country's history. [13:24] Now, in that address tonight, President Trump said there will be a primary topic, [13:28] but he'll be discussing some other things as well. [13:31] We'll be watching for those updates. [13:33] In Washington, I'm Stephen Gowen. [13:36] Stephen, thank you. [13:37] And the attacks on the left from the administration continue to ramp up [13:41] as we get closer to what's expected to be a very difficult midterm election for Republicans. [13:46] One of the president's top advisors, Stephen Miller, spoke at a State Department conference today, [13:50] taking aim at what he called far-left terrorists, [13:53] a political faction the president himself has labeled, quote, godless communists. [13:58] This is a fatal cancer to civilization. [14:05] And the greatest risk that we have is that our institutions have grown too soft and too cowardly [14:11] to be able to defend themselves against a mortal threat. [14:15] If your civilization is your home, you must defend it with the same passion and force [14:23] as if an enemy intruder is inside your own house where your family lives. [14:27] That is the level of dedication and urgency that is required. [14:32] Apologies. We were having some audio issues there. [15:14] Of course, this full-court press attack on political enemies comes as the president [15:18] is seeing some of the worst poll numbers ever recorded. [15:21] This is a recent Economist YouGov poll which found just 37 percent approved of the job [15:26] the president was doing, with nearly 60 percent disapproving. [15:30] And in another sign of the dissatisfaction, just 30 percent believe the country is on the right track. [15:35] Experts say much of this has to do with the president's failure to address the issues [15:39] that got him elected in 2024, including inflation, the cost of living, and immigration. [15:45] Now, those could be matters the president tries to bring up tonight, [15:49] as the White House has hinted that he will talk about more than just election security. [15:53] He could also speak about the Iran war, as the United States has resumed its strikes on the Islamic nation. [15:59] And as is often the case with President Trump, there could always be a wild card thrown in [16:02] by the commander-in-chief. [16:04] Earlier today, we spoke with Congressman Don Bacon, who told us he hasn't heard [16:09] anything beyond what the public knows right now. [16:13] But it was leaked that he was going to say the two senators in Georgia were elected based on fraudulent means. [16:22] And then the leaks of Susquist said, no, he changed off of that. [16:27] And what I'm hearing right now is he's going to focus on some intelligence, evidently, [16:32] that shows that China was trying to influence our options in 2020. [16:43] And that is the scope of what we know at this hour. [16:47] Again, we're taking a live look outside the White House right now, [16:51] as the president is expected to begin his address at any moment now. [16:55] Again, we are anticipating a talk about election security. [16:58] The president has always maintained he believed the 2020 election was stolen from him, [17:03] despite any evidence suggesting otherwise. [17:07] Recently, his outgoing national security advisor, or excuse me, [17:11] director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, [17:14] produced what she said was evidence of Obama meddling in the 2016 election. [17:19] But those documents, in fact, did not prove any such meddling by the Obama administration. [17:25] The president, obviously, is being very coy about what he's saying tonight. [17:31] But there has been those leaks we've talked about suggesting maybe the Georgia election was illegitimate. [17:36] And also, that received some backlash, even from some Republicans. [17:41] And so the White House sort of denied that, could have been testing the waters of such a claim. [17:47] But again, we don't know for sure what is going to happen tonight. [17:50] Reportedly, there's going to be talk that China meddled in an election in favor of Biden, [17:55] and that there is declassified information to prove that. [18:00] It appears we're ready to go. [18:01] Here now is the president of the United States. [18:04] Again, I'm proud to report that our country is safer, stronger, and far wealthier [18:10] than it has ever been before. [18:13] We are doing great. [18:15] Less than two years ago, we inherited an economic and social disaster. [18:20] After the worst inflation in 48 years, the wide-open borders, [18:25] with millions and millions of people pouring in from all over the world, [18:29] including criminals of all types, and 11,888 murderers, [18:36] many of whom killed more than one person. [18:39] We had transgender for everybody, men and women's sports, crime ravaging our cities, [18:47] and the whole world was laughing at us as a nation. [18:51] But not anymore. [18:53] Two years ago, our country was dead. [18:56] Now, we are the hottest country anywhere in the world. [19:02] America is respected like we have never been respected before. [19:07] We have more money being invested in the United States than at any time in the history of our country. [19:14] More Americans are working today than ever before. [19:18] This week, it was announced that inflation saw the largest monthly decline in more than six years. [19:26] It was just happened. [19:26] It was just given out. [19:29] The media reported it. [19:31] And we accept it the best in six years. [19:34] The tax cuts in our great, big, beautiful bill are saving hard-working families thousands and thousands of dollars, [19:43] like with the provisions. [19:45] No tax on tips, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security for our great seniors, [19:53] along with the interest deduction on a loan used to purchase a car, [19:57] but only if that car is made in America and a 100% expensing for our job-creating businesses. [20:06] Our stock markets are at their highest point in many years, but we can actually say of all time. [20:16] And your 401ks, pensions, and retirement accounts are setting records every single day, the highest in history. [20:24] For years, we paid the highest price for prescription drugs anywhere in the world. [20:29] Now we pay the lowest price under my most favored nation's policy, [20:34] because I was able to get the rest of the world and the pharmaceutical companies to act responsibly. [20:43] Drug prices are coming down by 70%, 80%, and 90%. [20:48] TrumpRx.gov, this will ultimately reduce the cost of health care. [20:54] You have to go to TrumpRx.gov and take advantage of it. [20:59] But the cost of health care is coming way down because of what we've done with prescription drugs. [21:06] And with Trump accounts, every child in America now has access to a tax-free investment account [21:11] to save for their future. [21:14] Billions and billions of dollars are being invested, put in by companies and individuals, [21:20] to take care of our children so that at age 18 they will have potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in their account, [21:28] and they'll get off to a great start in life. [21:31] So for that, go to TrumpAccounts.gov and sign up your child or any child you'd like to sign up. [21:40] Our previously wide-open borders have been transformed into the most secure borders in the history of our country, [21:48] with zero illegal aliens being admitted to the United States in the past 14 months. [21:55] That is zero. [21:56] Nobody thought it was possible. [21:59] We had the worst border in the history of our country, and now we have the best. [22:03] Crime is plummeting nationwide with the murder rate at its lowest level since 1900, [22:10] or more than 125 years ago. [22:14] We're making a record investment in our armed forces, [22:17] and we have the strongest and most powerful military by far anywhere in the world. [22:23] I built it during my first term, and unfortunately, we're forced to use it now. [22:30] We won in Venezuela, which is now working with us to produce millions and millions of barrels of oil. [22:36] We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly. [22:44] America is back and doing really well, [22:47] but we still have a major challenge that must be urgently addressed [22:52] because no country can be great without fair and honest elections. [22:58] You have to trust your country because if there can be no trust, there can be no greatness, [23:05] and that's very simple. [23:07] No trust, no greatness. [23:09] For many years, I've called for a bold, swift, and decisive action [23:14] to protect the integrity of America's elections. [23:18] Every American deserves to know that when they cast their vote, [23:22] that vote will be counted accurately in a system, [23:25] and that is to make that system secure, [23:28] one where cheating and interference are not just difficult, but virtually impossible. [23:36] Unfortunately, the system we have today falls catastrophically short of that standard. [23:42] Tonight, I'm announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence, [23:48] revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure. [23:53] This evidence shows that the election system we have dangerously exposes [23:59] and really exposes like levels never thought possible [24:04] to hacking, exploitation, and foreign interference. [24:09] Just as disturbingly this vital information has for many years been covered up and hidden from you, [24:17] the American people are beautiful, are great American people, [24:20] but that all changes right now. [24:23] The documents we will release starting tonight [24:27] have been gathered by the White House Government Transparency Task Force, [24:32] a great group of people, [24:34] along with the staff of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, [24:39] supported by our top intelligence agency chiefs, [24:43] who have all personally reviewed the findings. [24:45] We are presenting this evening, and fully confirmed, their authenticity. [24:51] You can see these documents for yourself at whitehouse.gov. [24:56] That's whitehouse.gov. [24:59] Go check it out. [25:00] Our purpose in disclosing this information is not to weaken confidence in election, [25:06] but to earn that confidence by confronting vulnerabilities [25:10] and correcting them very, very quickly. [25:13] And that's what we're doing. [25:15] The documents cover five major areas of concern. [25:19] First, they show that over a period of years, [25:23] starting during the 2020 election cycle, [25:26] the People's Republic of China carried out [25:29] what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, [25:34] resulting in China's illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files. [25:42] That information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences, [25:48] and other sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote [25:52] and engage in other nefarious activities, which is exactly what was happening. [25:59] This data loss presents an unprecedented election security nightmare. [26:04] The intelligence even shows that China has signed a data exploitation unit specifically to this new project. [26:13] Compounding the travesty, the second set of documents we are releasing [26:17] reveals that members of the deep state, very, very famous group of people, many cases, [26:25] in our intelligence agency worked to actively suppress and downplay information [26:30] about the extent of China's sinister election meddling, [26:35] covering it up from both the president and the American people like nobody thought was possible. [26:41] U.S. spy agencies began learning about the compromise of voter registration files in 2020 [26:47] when they discovered that tens of millions of voter data, [26:52] think of that, tens of millions of voters' data in 18 states have been bought, stolen, or hacked by China. [27:03] Yet those responsible for sounding the alarm instead kept the information secret and hidden. [27:09] They did not disclose to me as president or to anyone else, and to the best of our knowledge, [27:16] they did not inform Congress. [27:18] In fact, all they kept saying is, [27:22] this is the most secure election in the history of our country, [27:25] a standard, very pat line that was divvied out to say, [27:30] the cover-up of this colossal security breach is even more disturbing [27:35] in light of the additional information showing that China engaged in other election-related activities [27:41] to undermine my first administration and our 2020 campaign. [27:47] They did not want, and they just didn't want it. [27:50] They fought like hell not to have it, Donald Trump to win, and for good reason. [27:55] As the documents we are releasing show, CIA reporting explicitly stated, and I quote, [28:04] in mid-2018, the Chinese Communist Party's policy was to leverage all domestic and foreign elements [28:11] that were opposed to the U.S. president in an effort to reduce the U.S. president's votes [28:16] and make him resign or prevent his re-election. [28:21] Isn't that nice? [28:22] Also, in mid-2018, China was working to influence the results of the U.S. midterm elections [28:29] and later the results of the 2020 presidential election itself. [28:35] Separately, in mid-2019, the Chinese government's strategy against the United States [28:40] was focused on undermining domestic confidence in the U.S. president. [28:45] They wanted to just make you sound like your president wasn't so hot [28:50] when actually your president has done a great job [28:53] and they did everything possible to do exactly that. [28:58] Going on, this document says, and this is by the CIA, [29:02] the strategy included efforts to use Chinese contacts with big U.S. companies [29:08] to influence U.S. business leaders to turn against the president of the United States of America. [29:14] The Chinese government sought to identify U.S. journalists who had reported negatively on the U.S. president [29:22] and pay them large sums of money to write more negative articles about him, [29:27] as many as they could, and they didn't care what they said. [29:32] The Chinese government wanted U.S. president to lose the next election, [29:37] and the reason they wanted me to lose is because they knew I was wise to them, [29:43] charged them billions and billions of dollars worth of tariffs, [29:47] and built the strongest military anywhere in the world. [29:50] We have the strongest military anywhere in the world. [29:55] These are exact quotes from the CIA reporting. [29:59] The name of the person doing the quote is now under review, [30:04] but it gets even worse, raw intelligence obtained by the FBI in 2020, [30:10] yet buried by rogue bureaucrats, stated that China's activities [30:14] even included an attempt to manufacture illegal ballots for Joe Biden. [30:21] Documents show that during this period, [30:23] dozens of significant CIA and NSA reports about China's election targeting [30:29] were kept out of the presidential briefing. [30:32] These were briefings I would get almost every day. [30:37] Everything was kept out. [30:38] That was of importance. [30:40] One email among intelligence analysts admitted that they had, quote, [30:45] deliberately massaged the presidential daily briefing [30:49] to withhold information regarding Chinese activities related to the election. [30:54] Another official inside the FBI wrote that she was running, quote, [30:59] a shadow government, unquote, [31:02] to keep intelligence about China's election meddling from becoming known [31:06] and to keep it away from the honorable press. [31:10] Other officials who witnessed such efforts perceived the motivations to be blatantly political. [31:17] Recently, we found significant numbers of burn bags in formation, [31:22] and this is a group of bags that were used to destroy information given by President Barack Hussein Obama to be burned. [31:34] It was supposed to be burned. [31:36] These bags were supposed to be at a different level by different people incinerated and checked, [31:44] but it never happened. [31:46] Maybe we got lucky. [31:47] We believe this was not done on purpose, but rather through gross incompetence of the people that was supposed to burn the bags. [31:57] But the findings are stunning. [31:59] Today, I'm asking the office of the Director of National Intelligence, [32:03] the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the CIA [32:05] to investigate how and why such crucial information was hidden, [32:10] to fire those involved in the cover-up, [32:12] and to file criminal charges, if appropriate, against these people. [32:17] Yet concealing China's meddling was only the beginning. [32:21] The third set of documents we are releasing proves that, for many years, [32:26] Americans were blatantly lied to about the security of our election infrastructure, [32:32] including electronic voting machines and ballot counting systems, [32:37] dishonest almost all. [32:39] They're vulnerable, and they're easily compromised, [32:44] and people within our government knew that. [32:47] Tonight, we're publishing a series of previously classified U.S. intelligence community assessments [32:53] and other reports proving that our government has long known [32:57] these machines are extremely exposed to attack. [33:00] As one assessment states, we judge that the United States' adversaries, [33:07] including, at a minimum, Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, [33:11] as well as non-state groups, [33:14] have the capability to compromise U.S. election infrastructure. [33:18] That's unquote, but that's some statement, isn't it? [33:22] Made by supposedly great patriots of our country. [33:26] The document goes on to further state that, quote, [33:30] we assess that centralized election-related data repositories, [33:36] such as voter registration databases, poll books, [33:40] and other official election websites, [33:43] are most vulnerable to exploitation, [33:45] and adversaries could use this access to these systems [33:49] to disrupt election processes within the United States of America. [33:53] Tonight, we're releasing all of those findings [33:57] and spanning from January 2020 to June 2026. [34:02] This is a cyber threat aimed at the very heart of our democracy. [34:07] Many people have questioned whether it could actually be possible [34:11] to electronically manipulate vote totals [34:14] or change election results on these terrible machines. [34:19] Today, we are releasing documents [34:21] that show the CIA obtained reporting of a specific plot [34:25] to do a big number in favor of the corrupt Maduro regime in Venezuela, [34:33] and that's exactly what happened, [34:36] conspiring to digitally rig their own country's elections in 2020, [34:42] and that's what they did. [34:43] This reporting included precise details about methods [34:47] to regime develop to digitally alter vote totals [34:52] in ways that could not be detected, [34:55] even with an audit, no matter how deep they went. [34:59] This intelligence underscores why we must take urgent action [35:03] to ensure that our own system can never, ever be hacked [35:07] or compromised like it was in the past. [35:10] The fourth set of documents reveals [35:12] that even when significant evidence of fraud has been detected, [35:16] it has been buried and covered up. [35:20] Among the disclosures tonight are FBI files [35:23] detailing evidence of alleged fraud [35:26] by a large-scale voter registration operation in Michigan. [35:31] In 2020, Michigan State Police raided a Democrat [35:34] get-out-the-vote organization corrupt group [35:37] in Muskegon, and were so concerned by what they found. [35:43] They were just so concerned, they couldn't believe it, actually, [35:47] that they contacted the FBI in Detroit. [35:50] The documents state that some canvassers admitted to FBI agents [35:54] that they signed voter registration forms [35:57] and other people's names, [35:59] submitted fraudulent registration for people who did not exist, [36:03] and received gift cards tied to their number of applications [36:07] that they produced. [36:09] In other words, it was pay, play, and cheat. [36:14] The FBI agents working on the case [36:17] believe that crimes were committed, [36:20] yet the Biden Department of Justice [36:22] slow-walked the investigation and killed it. [36:25] Tonight, I'm asking the FBI director [36:28] to ensure that the matter is fully investigated [36:32] and to work with the Department of Justice [36:34] to prosecute those responsible for any crimes. [36:38] Finally, to reveal just how vulnerable [36:40] our elections continue to be, [36:42] we are releasing the results of a stunning investigation [36:45] by the Department of Homeland Security. [36:49] According to the DHS review, [36:52] state voter rolls and public records, [36:54] they identified approximately 278,000 non-citizens [36:59] who are registered to vote in federal elections. [37:03] Since Democrat states refuse to share their voter files, [37:08] the real number is actually much higher than that. [37:11] Yet, even this limited analysis [37:14] found more than a quarter of a million foreigners [37:17] illegally registered to vote. [37:20] Put together, these disclosures reveal [37:22] an election system so broken and so vulnerable [37:25] that no one can possibly defend it. [37:29] It is not defensible. [37:31] Hundreds of millions of U.S. voter files [37:34] are in the hands of foreign governments. [37:37] Our machines and ballot counting systems [37:39] are exposed to hacking and manipulation and corruption. [37:44] China and other countries have been trying to meddle [37:47] in our elections. [37:48] Evidence of fraud has been buried. [37:50] Hundreds of thousands of non-citizens [37:52] and dead people are listed and active on the voter rolls. [37:58] And yet, we still have elections with no voter ID, [38:02] no proof of citizenship, [38:04] and tens of millions of ballots [38:06] floating aimlessly through the mail. [38:09] As one example of the insanity, [38:11] California's recent election for mayor of L.A. [38:14] and governor was held on June 2nd, [38:17] a long time ago, [38:19] but it was just completed a few days ago on July 10th. [38:24] Think of that, much more than one month. [38:27] It took a month to count the votes. [38:28] I wonder what they were doing. [38:30] This is worse than any third world country. [38:34] There's no third world country [38:35] that has elections like we have. [38:38] In a rare move, NBC and ABC Fake News [38:42] have both said that they would not cover this speech. [38:45] They knew what it was about [38:46] because of the fact that they don't like the topic, [38:49] because they know how corrupt our system is [38:52] and they don't want to reveal it. [38:54] They and others in the media are part of a plot. [38:57] They want to continue this fraud for whatever reason. [39:00] They want to keep it going. [39:01] They want to protect the radical left. [39:04] They can't have a great country, and that's true. [39:07] You can't have a great country [39:09] without free and fair elections. [39:12] Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses. [39:15] They use our public multibillion-dollar-in-value airways [39:20] for absolutely no money. [39:22] They pay nothing. [39:24] All we want is honesty in our elections [39:26] and honesty in reporting. [39:28] They pay nothing for multibillion-dollar assets. [39:34] Great damage has been done to our country. [39:37] Our elections were left vulnerable [39:39] to being rigged and stolen, [39:42] and the trust of the American people was lost. [39:44] This cannot be allowed to continue. [39:47] Every American, whether you're a Republican, [39:50] Democrat, independent, or otherwise, [39:53] should be able to agree that we deserve [39:55] the most secure, honest, and fair election system [39:58] anywhere in the world. [40:00] Secure elections should be a partisan, really. [40:04] We should be together. [40:06] Democrats, Republicans, independents, everybody. [40:09] And it should not be a partisan issue. [40:12] It should cause to unite us, not to divide us. [40:16] This should be a cause. [40:17] We should be united, not divided. [40:20] In light of the brand-new and irrefutable information, [40:25] I have revocation is in the process of notifying. [40:29] The states whose election data was compromised [40:33] by the People's Republic of China, and many others. [40:37] We will be working closely to mitigate any harm, [40:40] and we're taking swift action to ensure [40:43] that sensitive voter data is better protected [40:46] so we can never be bought, [40:49] we can never be hacked, [40:50] and we can never watch a stolen election again. [40:55] Tomorrow, the Secretary of Homeland Security [40:58] will hold a briefing [40:59] to outline his department's recent work [41:02] confirming cyber vulnerabilities [41:05] in our electronic voting systems. [41:08] They are bad. [41:09] We're in the process of informing governors, senators, [41:12] and members of Congress [41:13] of potential issues in their states. [41:17] If you look at voting today, [41:19] it's in such bad shape in so many states, [41:22] and we are committing to fix it, [41:24] and we're also committing to be working [41:27] with those states and local jurisdictions [41:29] to help them fix and patch [41:31] known technical vulnerabilities [41:33] before the midterm elections. [41:36] We have very important elections coming up. [41:39] We want those elections, to be honest. [41:41] I've also ordered DHS to notify every state [41:44] about non-citizens on their voter rolls [41:47] and direct them to remove all ineligible voters [41:50] from the lists immediately. [41:52] But most importantly, [41:54] addressing this crisis of election security [41:57] demands that Congress must pass the Save America Act. [42:04] How easy is that to do unless you want to cheat? [42:09] The only reason you wouldn't do it [42:11] is you want to cheat [42:12] because your policies are so bad [42:14] and your candidates are so pathetic [42:18] that you can't get away [42:19] or can't get elected any other way. [42:21] This landmark bill requires that all voters [42:25] must show photo voter ID. [42:29] How simple is that? [42:30] Could I have your photo, please? [42:32] Photo voter ID. [42:34] All voters must provide proof of citizenship. [42:39] Are you a citizen of our country, please? [42:41] And hopefully there will be no corrupt mail-in ballots, [42:45] which if you watched California [42:47] and so many other places, [42:49] mail-in ballots are inherently corrupt. [42:51] So you would have no mail-in ballots [42:56] except for illness, disability, [43:00] military deployment, or travel. [43:02] If you're going away on business or vacation, [43:06] these reforms are urgently needed [43:08] to stop the vulnerabilities that I've mentioned. [43:12] To all Americans, [43:13] I ask you to pick up your phone tomorrow, [43:15] call your representatives in the House and Senate, [43:18] and demand that they pass [43:20] the Save America Act without delay. [43:25] Together we will restore faith [43:27] and confidence in our country [43:29] and we will be bigger, [43:31] better, and stronger than ever before. [43:35] Thank you. [43:36] God bless you. [43:37] God bless our great military. [43:39] And God bless America. [43:41] Thank you very much. [43:42] There we go. [46:02] Now we've got audio. [46:04] Apologies to all of our viewers, [46:05] and thank you for pointing out [46:07] that we didn't have audio there. [46:08] We do have it sorted out now, [46:10] so apologies for that. [46:11] So here's what we were talking about. [46:13] The White House is unveiling [46:14] all of these documents on their website. [46:17] There are very large amounts of data files [46:19] and documents in zip files, [46:21] if you're familiar with those. [46:22] We've taken a look at some of them, [46:24] and we have been checking in [46:25] with some of our sources [46:26] that did get early access to these documents [46:29] to take a look at them. [46:30] And many of these are [46:31] newly declassified documents [46:33] discussing vulnerabilities [46:34] that have been known for years [46:36] in election security officials [46:38] that they have tried to address. [46:41] Now, none of the declassified information, [46:43] as far as we can tell, [46:45] supports any claim [46:46] that any election result [46:48] has been changed by foreign influence [46:50] or any other manipulator [46:51] and that any of the outcomes [46:53] of the 2016, 2020, 2024 elections [46:57] were false. [46:58] And that is something [46:59] that election officials [47:00] in every state have maintained, [47:02] Republican and Democrat, [47:03] that the vote counts [47:06] were not manipulated. [47:07] It seems the president [47:08] was focusing more on voter rolls [47:10] and voter registration. [47:12] The White House separately [47:13] is framing these disclosures [47:15] not as an attempt [47:16] to relitigate past elections, [47:18] but rather as an attempt [47:19] to correct those vulnerabilities [47:21] ahead of November. [47:23] However, the Trump administration [47:26] has shuttered [47:26] many federal organizations [47:28] that were tracking [47:28] and publicizing [47:29] foreign influence campaigns. [47:31] White House officials [47:32] are suggesting the information, [47:34] even though some of it's been known [47:35] for many years, [47:36] was withheld [47:37] from senior top election officials, [47:39] including President Trump [47:40] for political purposes. [47:43] Looking at some of this analysis [47:49] coming in, [47:51] the documents are part of an attempt [47:52] by the Trump administration [47:53] to make the case [47:54] that foreign countries [47:55] are aggressively interfering [47:57] with U.S. elections. [48:00] However, he did not bring up [48:01] the confirmed meddling by Russia, [48:04] which took place [48:04] during the 2016 election, [48:07] a case which included [48:08] his one-time campaign chairman [48:10] being charged [48:11] with illegally handing over polling data [48:16] to Russian officials [48:17] to use in their meddling campaign. [48:20] President Trump, [48:21] I believe, [48:22] correct me if I'm wrong, [48:23] later pardoned him [48:24] before he was taken to trial. [48:31] One other claim, [48:32] and I want to put some of these [48:34] on the screen for you [48:35] that we were taking a look at, [48:37] just some of the claims [48:38] that the president [48:39] was making tonight. [48:40] That is not the right graphic. [48:46] That is the right graphic. [48:48] There we go. [48:50] So some of the things [48:51] we were looking at. [48:52] Now, the president started off [48:54] with the economy, [48:55] saying that lower inflation [48:56] shows that the economy [48:58] remains strong. [48:59] That is true, [48:59] that we did get [49:00] a lower inflation number [49:01] in a recent report. [49:03] But that was largely tied [49:04] to gas prices coming down [49:05] after that ceasefire with Iran. [49:08] And as we all know, [49:09] that war has ramped up. [49:10] The president not saying much [49:12] about the Iran war [49:13] other than we're winning it. [49:16] But that inflation mark [49:17] is expected to go back up now [49:19] as gas prices have begun to rise again. [49:22] The president also touting [49:23] his efforts to bring drug prices [49:25] down 90%. [49:26] That's a little bit true. [49:29] The president has made efforts [49:32] to bring specific drugs [49:33] down significantly. [49:35] But overall, [49:36] drug prices have not gone down. [49:38] As for some of these [49:39] election claims, [49:40] he claimed China obtained [49:41] voter records [49:42] and meddled in elections. [49:44] That's something [49:44] that these documents [49:45] purportedly show. [49:46] But again, [49:47] they do not show [49:48] that they were successful [49:50] in meddling [49:51] with election results. [49:52] And we will have to review [49:55] these documents [49:55] to see how this compares [49:57] to the operations [49:58] that Russia was [50:00] and has been using [50:01] for many years. [50:02] He claims that a security breach [50:04] was covered up. [50:05] That's something [50:06] that we'll have to look into. [50:08] And that Democratic [50:09] voter registration fraud [50:11] was happening [50:12] on a wide scale in Michigan. [50:14] He also claimed [50:15] that that information [50:16] was kept from him. [50:19] He also claimed [50:19] that the Biden administration [50:20] halted that investigation. [50:23] But again, [50:24] there is no evidence [50:25] to back that up. [50:27] So again, [50:27] a lot coming out [50:28] of the White House tonight. [50:30] A lot of claims [50:31] being made by the president. [50:34] And that is all [50:36] going to be hashed over [50:37] as there are a lot [50:38] of documents [50:39] that the White House [50:40] has declassified. [50:41] The president has [50:42] the right to do that. [50:43] Some of these documents [50:44] are containing emails, [50:47] containing of reports. [50:48] Others are more recent [50:50] analysis of prior investigations [50:54] that were going on. [50:55] and the president's team's [50:57] own conclusion [50:58] on those documents. [51:00] Again, he also did stress [51:04] that countries like Russia, [51:06] China, Iran, and North Korea [51:08] have the capability [51:09] to access and manipulate [51:11] U.S. election data. [51:12] That has been widely known [51:13] for many years. [51:15] One National Intelligence [51:16] Council report [51:17] from January of 2020 [51:19] came to that conclusion. [51:20] However, that doesn't appear [51:23] to be as concerning [51:25] as one thinks. [51:26] And part of the reason [51:27] for that is the way [51:28] that the American [51:28] election system runs. [51:30] Here in the United States, [51:32] the federal government [51:33] does not run the elections. [51:34] It's up to the states. [51:36] And decentralizing [51:37] the election systems [51:38] has in part [51:40] made it more secure [51:41] because no one can come in [51:42] and make any serious [51:44] issues with it. [51:45] The White House [51:46] was also making a claim tonight [51:48] that Venezuela conducted [51:50] an experiment [51:51] on voting machines [51:52] that swapped out votes [51:53] in a way [51:53] that was undetectable. [51:55] The machines were made [51:56] by Smartmatic, [51:57] a company that Trump [51:59] and his allies [52:00] have falsely accused [52:01] of rigging the 2020 election, [52:03] largely because of its ties [52:05] to Venezuela. [52:06] A declassified CIA memo [52:08] from June says [52:09] the U.S. intelligence community [52:10] determined in 2006 [52:12] that Venezuela [52:13] and Smartmatic [52:13] did not have the capability [52:16] to manipulate the outcome [52:17] of elections [52:17] outside Venezuela. [52:19] They did find [52:21] that there was the opportunity [52:22] to manipulate elections [52:24] inside Venezuela. [52:27] Smartmatic software [52:28] is currently only used [52:29] in one jurisdiction [52:30] in the entire U.S., [52:31] and that is Los Angeles County. [52:34] So the ability [52:34] to do much of anything [52:36] to election results, [52:37] even if that were happening, [52:39] would really not have [52:40] an impact on any races, [52:42] state or nation, [52:43] nationwide. [52:45] A spokesperson [52:46] for Smartmatic [52:48] tells CNN, [52:49] quote, [52:50] we vehemently reject [52:51] the completely basis [52:52] and repeatedly debunked [52:54] accusations [52:54] about the integrity [52:55] of our election systems. [52:58] Those vulnerabilities [52:59] have already been the focus [53:00] of several lawsuits [53:01] filed by Trump [53:02] and his supporters, [53:03] and all of those [53:05] have failed to advance [53:06] beyond a judge. [53:10] Looking at some [53:12] of the other claims [53:12] the president made tonight, [53:14] that China obtained [53:15] more than 200 million [53:16] American voter registration files, [53:18] as we said, [53:18] between 2020 and 2024. [53:21] They say that they received [53:22] individual names, [53:23] addresses, phone numbers, [53:24] military status, [53:25] party registration, [53:26] and record [53:27] of whether or not [53:28] they voted. [53:29] The White House [53:31] claiming that [53:32] those documents [53:32] were purchased illicitly, [53:34] stolen, hacked, [53:34] or otherwise by China. [53:37] Now, we need to point out here, [53:39] many states openly [53:40] and non-controversially [53:42] sell versions [53:43] of their voter data. [53:45] I mean, [53:45] even election research groups [53:47] and campaigns [53:49] can pay to get that data [53:51] for their own strategies, [53:53] but only the part [53:55] that contains [53:55] public information. [53:57] Still, [53:58] a foreign adversary [53:59] getting that information [54:00] could learn a lot [54:01] and possibly meddle [54:03] and influence elections [54:05] through social media campaigns [54:09] that are made to look [54:10] like they're coming [54:10] from Americans. [54:12] And obviously, [54:13] that's something [54:13] that we saw quite a bit of [54:15] in 2016 [54:15] coming from Russia. [54:19] A 2019 report [54:21] from a government agency [54:23] found that [54:23] eight states' voter databases [54:25] were compromised by China, [54:27] but the report also found [54:29] Chinese hackers [54:30] targeted a wide swath [54:31] of American society, [54:32] including medical databases, [54:34] social networking sites, [54:35] think tanks, [54:35] and defense contractors. [54:37] So this is not exactly surprising [54:39] as China is trying [54:41] to gain any data [54:43] on Americans [54:44] that they can get [54:45] in order to breach [54:48] as many records as possible. [54:50] This is nothing new. [54:52] China has been doing this [54:53] for many, many years. [54:54] In 2015, [54:54] they stole more than [54:55] 20 million sensitive records [54:57] from the Office [54:57] of Personal Management. [55:00] And several other instances [55:02] have been able [55:03] to obtain documents [55:04] not only from the government, [55:06] but from large businesses [55:07] here in the United States. [55:09] One other thing [55:10] the president touched on [55:11] quite a bit [55:12] is he is pushing [55:13] for more stringent identification [55:17] in order to register to vote. [55:19] And also with his push [55:22] on immigration, [55:23] the Department of Homeland Security [55:25] under President Trump [55:26] believes that at least [55:27] 250,000 non-citizens [55:30] were on the voter rolls [55:31] in several key states. [55:33] However, there are doubts [55:34] that the data sets [55:36] that were analyzed [55:37] are reliable at all. [55:38] Those 250,000 non-citizens [55:41] are allegedly in California, [55:43] Pennsylvania, New Jersey, [55:45] and Nevada. [55:46] The White House says [55:47] the analysis was done [55:48] from commercially available [55:49] databases, [55:51] but those are less reliable [55:52] than government data. [55:54] States have refused [55:56] to, those states [55:57] that have been accused [55:58] have refused [55:58] to hand over their voter lists [56:00] for a federal audit. [56:01] The DHS says [56:05] a total of 28,000 non-citizens [56:07] were found illegally registered [56:09] to vote, [56:10] drawing from data [56:11] from 25 states [56:12] that processed [56:12] more than 68 million [56:13] registration records. [56:15] Those are the states [56:16] that did turn [56:17] their voting records over. [56:18] Nebraska and Iowa [56:20] are both states [56:20] that did just that. [56:23] But again, [56:24] what we need to stress here [56:25] is that these are people [56:26] that are on the voter rolls. [56:28] These are not people [56:29] that are voting. [56:32] There is still [56:33] no indication [56:33] from any of the documents [56:35] released tonight [56:35] that there has been [56:36] a massive uptick [56:37] in non-citizens [56:38] trying to cast ballots. [56:40] It does happen [56:41] in very small numbers [56:42] and it is almost always caught [56:45] and can lead to charges [56:47] if it was something [56:48] intentionally done. [56:50] Again, [56:50] it is illegal [56:51] for any foreign national [56:53] to vote in federal elections [56:54] and there is little evidence [56:56] that it happens [56:57] other than in very small amounts [56:59] and is often caught [57:00] during a canvassing [57:02] of an election. [57:05] So, [57:06] one other thing [57:07] we can point at here [57:08] is the Heritage Foundation [57:09] which is a well-known [57:11] conservative think tank. [57:13] They have been trying [57:14] to uncover [57:15] just how much election fraud [57:16] there is. [57:17] And right now [57:18] the Heritage Foundation [57:20] database [57:20] has confirmed [57:22] less than 100 examples [57:24] of non-citizens voting [57:25] over a 20-year period. [57:29] That's 100 [57:30] out of more than [57:31] 1 billion [57:32] lawfully cast ballots. [57:36] The liberal-leaning [57:37] Brennan Center [57:38] analyzed more than [57:39] 23 million votes [57:40] from 2016 [57:41] and found [57:42] 30 examples [57:43] of non-citizens [57:45] trying to vote. [57:46] Again, [57:46] in numbers [57:47] that would not [57:48] impact any outcome. [57:51] So, [57:51] I guess [57:53] in some ways [57:53] the truth [57:54] is in the eye [57:54] of the beholder. [57:55] Are there [57:56] mistakes [57:57] and breaches [57:58] in our election [57:59] integrity? [58:00] Yes. [58:01] Does it impact [58:02] the outcome [58:03] of any elections? [58:04] No. [58:05] No evidence of that. [58:07] No evidence of that [58:08] in these new documents [58:09] tonight. [58:10] The president [58:11] now pitting [58:13] a budget bill [58:14] in Congress [58:15] under, [58:17] basically saying [58:18] that it needs [58:19] to pass [58:19] with his [58:20] Save America [58:21] Act intact. [58:22] Now, [58:22] this is that [58:23] voter registration [58:24] bill [58:24] that Republicans [58:25] have been trying [58:26] to push through [58:26] now since [58:27] President Trump [58:28] returned to office. [58:29] They say it's a [58:30] voter ID bill. [58:32] That's only [58:33] about half true. [58:35] Yes, [58:35] it does require [58:36] a voter ID [58:37] at the polls, [58:37] which most people [58:38] already have to do. [58:40] The sticking point [58:41] is whether or not [58:42] people can show [58:43] certain documentation [58:44] when they register [58:46] to vote. [58:46] And the new [58:48] requirements [58:49] are often documents [58:51] like passports [58:52] and birth certificates [58:53] that many people [58:54] don't have access to. [58:57] And on the other [58:58] side of that, [58:59] it also changes [59:00] the rules [59:00] on how people [59:01] can register. [59:03] And if they have [59:03] to register [59:03] based on their [59:04] birth certificate, [59:05] that's a problem [59:06] for many women [59:06] who may not have [59:07] the same name [59:08] they were born with. [59:09] They may have [59:09] their married name [59:10] now on other [59:11] government documents [59:12] than their birth [59:13] certificate. [59:14] And so that [59:15] has raised concerns [59:16] that that could [59:16] prevent a lot [59:17] of people [59:17] from registering [59:18] to vote. [59:20] So the bottom line [59:23] is so far [59:23] a lot of claims [59:24] being made [59:25] by the president. [59:26] Some of them [59:26] may be true, [59:27] but still no evidence [59:29] of any actual [59:30] meddling in the [59:31] election results [59:32] of the United States [59:33] over the last decade. [59:35] There is evidence [59:36] that countries [59:37] like Russia [59:37] and as Trump [59:39] is claiming, [59:39] China have tried [59:40] to meddle [59:41] in our elections [59:41] largely by obtaining [59:43] data, [59:44] including voter [59:45] information, [59:46] and trying [59:47] to use that [59:48] to influence [59:49] people through [59:50] social media [59:50] campaigns [59:51] and other [59:52] illicit actions. [59:53] But again, [59:54] no evidence [59:54] that any election, [59:56] any voter total, [59:58] has been manipulated [59:59] by anybody, [1:00:00] foreign or domestic. [1:00:02] And so far, [1:00:03] the White House [1:00:04] is at least admitting [1:00:05] to the fact [1:00:05] that they are not [1:00:06] making that claim. [1:00:07] They're trying [1:00:08] to show that [1:00:08] there is enough [1:00:09] problems that [1:00:10] the Save America Act [1:00:11] should be enacted [1:00:12] to prevent that [1:00:13] from happening. [1:00:14] But again, [1:00:15] every group [1:00:16] right and left [1:00:17] that has analyzed [1:00:18] voter records [1:00:19] has found [1:00:20] at most [1:00:22] 100 examples [1:00:23] of non-citizens [1:00:24] voting [1:00:25] out of over [1:00:26] 1 billion votes [1:00:27] cast over [1:00:28] a 20-year period. [1:00:30] So in numbers [1:00:31] that would never [1:00:32] affect the outcome [1:00:33] of an election. [1:00:35] That's going to do it [1:00:36] for our coverage [1:00:37] here of the [1:00:38] President's Address [1:00:39] to the Nation. [1:00:40] We will have [1:00:41] more for you [1:00:42] coming up [1:00:42] on Facebook [1:00:43] and YouTube. [1:00:44] I will be [1:00:45] speaking with [1:00:45] our Washington [1:00:46] correspondent [1:00:47] Emma Wolfhorst [1:00:48] later this evening [1:00:49] and we will [1:00:49] put that up [1:00:50] for you tonight [1:00:50] for additional [1:00:51] analysis [1:00:52] on what the [1:00:53] President had [1:00:54] to say tonight. [1:00:55] Until then, [1:00:56] I want to thank [1:00:56] everyone for joining [1:00:57] us for this [1:00:57] special report [1:00:58] and we will [1:01:00] continue to monitor [1:01:01] this story [1:01:02] both on air [1:01:03] and online [1:01:04] at firstalert6.com. [1:01:06] From the Alert Center, [1:01:07] I'm Nick Weig, [1:01:08] First Alert 6 [1:01:09] in Omaha.