President Donald Trump announced the release of declassified documents he said are evidence that China has been meddling in U.S. elections by hacking into voter registration databases and by other means.
Trump, who spoke Thursday evening in a prime time address to the nation, said the “deep state” had this information and suppressed it from the president and Congress.
“They kept it secret and hidden. Did not disclose to me or Congress,” Trump said.
Trump said the declassified information shows “shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure. “No country can be great without fair and honest elections,” Trump said. He added, “No trust—no greatness.”
He said China accessed 220 million voter files, adding, “This data loss presented an unprecedented security nightmare.”
At least a portion of the declassified information was released Thursday night.
The point of the hacking, according to Trump, was to steal information about thousands of voters. He also said information from 2018 and 2019 shows that Chinese operatives wanted to harm Trump so he would be forced to resign or be defeated in his reelection bid.
“The reason they wanted me to lose is that they knew I was wise to them, charged them billions in tariffs, and built the largest military in the world.”
Trump said elections were “vulnerable and easily compromised and people within our government knew that.”
The Department of Homeland Security has information showing about 278,000 registered voters are foreigners, Trump said.
The address comes as Trump is pushing Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require photo identification to vote and proof of citizenship to register to vote. The president, as he concluded his remarks, made a passionate plea for Congress to pass the legislation.
In March 2021, during the early months of the Biden administration, the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint report that asserted China considered trying to influence the presidential election but backed off. It further said, “No evidence found that a foreign government manipulated any election results.”
Still, there have been documented cases of China election meddling and hacking.
In the 2024 campaign, FBI officials said Chinese government operatives targeted the phones of candidates, including now-President Trump, now-Vice President JD Vance, and individuals associated with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
A Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security report released in December 2023 found Chinese cyber actors collected publicly available voter information during the 2022 election.
In July 2024, the Justice Department Office of Inspector General issued a report that described China as one of several foreign governments that conducted malign influence campaigns directed at U.S. elections. This included using fake online personas and promoting propaganda
