Donald Trump went on national television on July 24, 2026 to say the 2020 election was not legitimate. He told viewers that US elections are "vulnerable to being rigged and stolen" and said "the trust of the American people was lost" when he lost in 2020 The Guardian. The appearance came after months of effort by the White House to gain more control over how elections are run, laying the groundwork to challenge results in November.

During the address, Trump accused China of interfering in the 2020 election. He also called for the federal government to take direct control of elections in some states, claiming falsely that his 2020 losses there were illegitimate. At the same time, he was pushing Congress to pass the Save Act, a law that would give the federal government more power over elections The Guardian.

The July 24 interview was separate from another primetime speech Trump gave on July 16, where he warned of "shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure" FactCheck.org. In that speech, Trump released classified documents he said showed Chinese interference in US elections, though Reuters reported that China's alleged actions did not match what US intelligence agencies had found Reuters. The Associated Press reported Trump also released a large collection of documents he said proved voter fraud in the 2020 election Associated Press. A New York Times fact-check noted that while Trump warned elections could be rigged, he did not provide evidence that any specific election actually had been The New York Times.

Reuters reported on May 26 that Trump had repeated his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen at least 107 times in the six months before the midterms Reuters. The Associated Press has stated outright that Trump's election-fraud claims are false Associated Press. Trump has also repeatedly said mail-in voting is like cheating, even though he has voted by mail himself The Guardian.

In the United States, the president does not run elections. States and local counties do. Ben Berwick of Protect Democracy, a group that monitors government power, said the president "really has no power over elections" and that the system "is run by states and local jurisdictions" The Guardian. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes called the rhetoric itself the main threat, saying: "The number one threat facing American elections is the continued lies coming out of the White House" The Guardian.

Administration officials have also pressured state election officials by using federal funding. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin warned state officials they could lose funding or face investigations if they did not follow federal election security orders tied to the Save Act Associated Press. This pressure follows a major decision by the US Supreme Court around April 29. The Court, which has a conservative majority, effectively removed a key part of the Voting Rights Act, a 1965 law meant to stop discrimination in voting. After that ruling, Louisiana Republicans redrew the state's congressional map, changing it from four Republican and two Democratic districts to one likely to give Republicans five of the state's six seats The Guardian.

The broader context comes down to political incentives meeting in November. As of late July 2026, Trump's approval rating was 37%. In midterm elections, which happen halfway through a president's term, the party in power usually loses ground. Republicans appeared on track to lose seats in the US Senate, House, and state and local races. Voting rights activists saw Trump's primetime address as a step-up in a White House effort to influence or change the results of the 2026 midterms. The combination of executive pressure on state officials, legislative efforts to move election control to the federal government, and court rulings weakening voting rights protections creates a difficult and uncertain environment for the people running elections in November.