Donald Trump live: US president to deliver primetime address on elections

Live updates,

As the 2026 midterm elections approach, some critics worry that President Trump will use his upcoming primetime address to cast unfounded doubts on the integrity of the electoral process.

This address comes as Trump continues to challenge the legitimacy of election outcomes, a theme he has repeated since the 2020 vote.

Published On 16 Jul 2026

• United States President Donald Trump has announced a primetime address on Thursday at 9pm Eastern Time (01:00 GMT Friday).
• Trump has revealed little about his upcoming speech, except that it will contain “really big news” about election security.

9 Updates

• 49s ago

   (22:00 GMT)

  Trump will attend World Cup final, White House confirms

  On Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the president will travel to New York for a FIFA reception at Trump Tower, and then attend the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain on Sunday.

  “His attendance will cap what has been the most watched, most secure and most successful World Cup in American history,” the spokeswoman said.

  “This is a fitting conclusion to a tournament that showcased America’s ability to host the world on the grandest stage.”

  The tournament has faced criticism due to exorbitant ticket prices, reports of visa denials for fans, and travel restrictions that particularly impacted the Iranian team.

  Before the World Cup began, US authorities also denied entry to Somali referee Omar Artan, who was set to participate in the tournament.

  Trump has not attended any World Cup match so far. Earlier this month, he confirmed that he contacted FIFA President Gianni Infantino to revoke the suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun, who had received a red card during play against Bosnia.

  FIFA did reverse the ban against Balogun without providing a technical explanation for the decision, but the US lost its next match to Belgium, by a score of four to one, crashing out in the Round of 16.

  

• 10m ago

   (21:50 GMT)

  US intelligence director pick refuses to acknowledge Trump loss in 2020

  Democrats and democracy advocates have been warning that Trump may use his speech to once again air his grievances about the 2020 election result.

  Trump’s nominee to be the next director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton, did little to calm those concerns during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.

  Democrats repeatedly asked Clayton if Joe Biden “won” the 2020 vote. Clayton asserted he was not an “election denier” and that Biden had been “certified” as the victor. However, he avoided saying outright that Biden had won the race.

  “He followed our process, had the most electoral votes, was declared the winner,” Clayton said of Biden at one point.

  “And who has the most electoral votes? Is it the person who wins or the person who loses?” Senator Mark Kelly responded.

  “That’s your characterisation,” Clayton said. “I’m not going to continue to do this”.

  Read more here.

  

• 20m ago

   (21:40 GMT)

  Democratic senator warns Trump against attacking 2020 Georgia results

  Jon Ossoff, who represents Georgia, has accused Trump of trying to defraud the people of his state.

  Ahead of Trump’s primetime speech, the Democratic senator urged caution before listening to the president’s claims about election interference.

  Ossoff pointed to Trump’s 2021 phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he demanded that state officials “find 11,780 votes” to allow him to win the state. Trump, at the time, was seeking to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

  “If the president declares Georgia’s elections illegitimate, or if the president declares Georgia’s sitting United States senators illegitimate, he is declaring Georgia voters illegitimate,” Ossoff told reporters.

  “It’s Donald Trump who tried to defraud Georgia voters in that election.”

  The senator added that he expects Trump to repeat “debunked conspiracy theories” about the vote.

  “The world’s most famous sore loser will deliver a primetime presidential sour grapes address to pursue his six-year-old grievances about the 2020 election, while his war in the Middle East spirals out of control and the cost of living continues to rise for Americans across the country,” the senator said.

  

• 30m ago

   (21:30 GMT)

  What happened last time Trump delivered a prime time speech?

  Presidential addresses, which are typically delivered live during US evening hours, have historically been reserved for major announcements.

  But Trump, who is known to have an affinity for the cameras, has deployed them relatively often.

  Most recently, he gave an address in April, which largely served as a rebuttal to criticism of his decision to launch the US-Israeli war in Iran.

  In December, Trump also delivered a speech that focused heavily on the economy, addressing public anxiety over the cost of groceries, housing and the cost of living in the US.

  At the time, Trump blamed the economic situation on his predecessor, former US President Joe Biden, saying he “inherited a mess”.

  Months later, the war with Iran continues to rage, and affordability remains a major issue on voters’ minds.

  

• 40m ago

   (21:20 GMT)

  ‘It will shock you’: White House says Trump will share startling findings

  White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt has urged reporters to listen to the US president’s address before making any conclusions about it.

  “Everyone should tune in tonight, including the people in this room, and you should report on the president’s speech and the findings that he is going to reveal in this speech with a little bit of honesty and a little bit of integrity, because it will shock you,” Leavitt said during a Thursday news briefing.

  She added that the information Trump plans to provide will be backed “by facts and by evidence”.

  

• 50m ago

   (21:10 GMT)

  Republicans to advance $95bn spending bill with Trump election priorities

  Republicans on the budget committee in the House of Representatives have pushed forward a $95bn spending package that contains some of Trump’s election priorities.

  The move comes within hours of Thursday night’s Trump speech.

  The bulk of the bill’s funds, roughly $73bn, would go to defence and intelligence operations. But about $10bn is set aside for election-related costs. Some of those funds would be offered as incentives for states to adopt measures that Trump has endorsed to tighten voting restrictions.

  Trump has been lobbying Congress for the passage of the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require voters to provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, in order to cast a ballot.

  However, that bill has been stalled, amid criticism that it could disenfranchise citizens who do not have access to such documents.

  Critics, however, have warned that the $95bn spending bill could face a similar fate, if it attempts to absorb some of the SAVE America Act’s restrictions.

  

• 55m ago

   (21:05 GMT)

  Democrats fear Trump may be setting the stage to reject midterm results

  Some Democrats have expressed fear that the US president will try to preemptively taint the results of November’s midterm elections by rehashing unfounded grievances about alleged fraud in the 2020 vote.

  With Trump’s popularity taking a nosedive amid the war with Iran, his Republican Party is expected to lose control of one or both chambers of Congress in November.

  “He’s trying to scare off people from voting. I feel like he knows, if there’s free and fair elections this fall, American people are going to reject Donald Trump and his policies,” Senator Mark Warner said earlier today.

  “And since he can’t win on substance, he’s trying to cook the books.”

  

• 58m ago

   (21:02 GMT)

  What we know about the speech

  Trump will address the nation at 9pm local time in Washington, DC (01:00 GMT).

  The US president is widely expected to reveal claims of interference in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. However, the details of the speech remain unclear.

  Without evidence. Trump has been claiming for years that he lost due to widespread fraud.

  “We’ll be discussing other things, too,” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “It’s going to be a very big announcement.”

  Read more about what we know about the address here.

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  Americas Coverage Newsletter

• 1h ago

   (21:00 GMT)

  Welcome to our coverage

  Hello and welcome to our live coverage of United States President Donald Trump’s primetime speech.

  Stay with us for the latest news and analyses from across the US.

  

Democrats and democracy advocates have warned that Trump may use the speech to revisit his grievances about the 2020 election. The address coincides with the World Cup final, but the president has largely stayed away from the tournament except for intervening in a suspension of U.S. striker Folarin Balogun. Observers note that such attacks on election integrity could further erode public trust ahead of the midterms.