WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump used a primetime address to the nation Thursday to once again raise doubts about the results of past elections, reviving a subject he’s long used to make unproven claims and deny his loss in the 2020 election.
Trump’s fixation on his loss to Democrat Joe Biden six years ago and the long-debunked theories he’s circulated about it are things he still brings up regularly when discussing other subjects. But elevating the deeply political and conspiratorial topics to a presidential primetime address underscores the lengths to which Trump has used his second term to both blow past norms and fixate on old grievances.
Trump began Thursday night with a stark warning about what he described as flaws in the voting system and said he was releasing previously classified documents related to the 2020 and 2018 elections.
“America is back and doing really well, but we still have a major challenge that must be urgently addressed, because no country can be great without fair and honest elections,” he said.
He said all Americans should be assured their elections are free of cheating and interference.
“Unfortunately, the system we have today falls catastrophically short of that standard,” Trump said.
Trump used the remarks to justify his push to pass a strict voter ID bill in Congress.
Responding to the president's remarks, Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar accused the president of fearmongering and attempting to manufacture a crisis.
"Today's announcement from the President and Department of Homeland Security is the latest chapter in a predictable playbook crafted intentionally to undermine faith in our elections. Nevada voters and all Americans deserve better,” said Aguilar in his statement.
“Since 2020, Nevada election officials of both parties have consistently defended the integrity of the state's elections when confronted with unsupported fraud allegations. In 2020, the President came after battleground states to try to sway the election. He continues to attack us and create doubt ahead of the midterm elections because he knows how important our voters are. As Nevada’s Chief Elections Officer, it’s my job to call balls and strikes – so when the President lies, I am obligated to call him out. The facts have not changed: Nevada’s elections are among the safest, most secure and accessible in the nation," Aguilar continued.
He went on to say that the Secretary of State's Office has taken significant steps to make elections more secure and accessible. He highlighted increased security measures like voting machines that allow in-person voters to print their ballots and review them before they are submitted.
"Nevada's election systems are subject to rigorous testing, certification requirements and multiple layers of security designed to protect the integrity of the voting process. Any claims of election fraud are taken seriously and investigated by our office, but there is no evidence of widespread fraud," he said.
He went on to say, "Foreign actors have attempted to target election-related information in the past, which is why election officials remain vigilant and continue strengthening security measures. However, access to information does not mean an election was compromised or that votes were changed."
He concluded by saying that misinformation about voting and elections creates distrust in the process and threatens to stop people from participating, and that his office is focused on protecting voters' right to participate and ensuring the midterm elections are safe, secure, and accessible.
