United States President Donald Trump has announced he will deliver a rare primetime speech on Thursday night, promising “really big news” though he has not disclosed specific details. When asked by reporters, Trump indicated the address would focus on elections and “a couple of other things.”

Speaking to journalists in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump emphasized the importance of election integrity, stating, “It doesn’t get bigger, because without free and fair elections, you don’t have a country.”

The speech comes three and a half months before the November 3 midterm elections and amid the White House's renewed scrutiny of the 2020 election results and efforts to push new voting restrictions.

Trump has a history of contesting election outcomes; after the 2020 election, he repeatedly rejected the results, and his supporters attacked the US Capitol during the Electoral College certification on January 6, 2021. Prior to the 2016 election, he also refused to commit to accepting a potential loss to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Additional context includes recent political developments such as US Senate Democrats blocking a defense bill over Iran war and Israel integration issues, questions surrounding Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat succession, Trump removing the final members of an independent US election commission, and a US intelligence director pick refusing to acknowledge Trump's 2020 loss.

Sources