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United States President Donald Trump is promising “very big news” in a rare speech Thursday night, though he won’t say exactly what it is.
The surprise announcement was made on Tuesday. But when pressed by reporters about what he wanted to discuss, Trump only revealed that the speech would be about the election and “a few other things”.
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“It’s not getting worse, because without free and fair elections, you don’t have a country,” he told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
Asked to elaborate, Trump said he wanted to “hold back” on the speech.
“We will discuss other things,” he added. “It’s going to be a really big announcement.”
The White House has confirmed that the address will cover the election, including information about the 2020 presidential election, which Trump claimed to have won.
The speech is also expected to discuss what the White House says are threats to US voting systems.
Here’s what we know about the upcoming presidential address.
When is Trump’s speech?
Trump is expected to speak from the White House on Thursday at 9pm US Eastern Time (01:00 GMT Friday).
How can you see?
Major US television stations are expected to show the address. The Trump administration has requested airtime from major broadcasters.
It will also be shown on WhiteHouse.gov and on the White House YouTube page.
Why is time important?
Trump’s speech comes three and a half months before the November 3 midterm elections.
What is at stake is control in the US Congress. Currently, Trump’s Republican Party has a slim majority in both houses of Congress.
But Democrats want to pay back the favor, and roll back Trump’s second term.
Opponents are afraid that Trump will use his first speech to destroy the confidence of voters in the upcoming elections, or to say that the government is involved in the election process, which is controlled at the state and local level.
There is also speculation that Trump may be trying to burnish his position amid the tumultuous numbers. Research firm YouGov said this month that more than 57 percent of US voters disapprove of the president’s actions in his second term so far.
What should Trump say?
At this point, details are still unknown about Thursday’s speech.
Administration officials say Trump will discuss newly released intelligence related to his investigation into the 2020 election.
He also said that Trump would discuss hacking voting machines that would allow foreign cyber intrusions.
Trump has revealed a few more. When asked this week if the issue will emphasize the integrity of voting machines, he replied simply: “It will touch on that topic.”
What happened in the 2020 election?
Trump was the first incumbent to run for re-election in 2020.
He met with Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who served as vice president under Barack Obama.
Biden defeated Trump, winning both the Electoral College votes – which decide the president – and the popular vote, the most important indicator.
Democrats received 306 Electoral College votes and more than 81 million votes, compared to 232 Electoral College votes and 74 million votes for Trump.
Instead, states like Georgia, Michigan and Arizona voted in favor of Biden.
After the election, Trump repeatedly denied the results, and his supporters attacked the US Capitol during the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021.
What is Trump’s history of questioning US elections?
Trump spent years questioning the integrity of US elections, even before 2020.
Before the 2016 election, he refused to say whether he would accept a loss to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
After winning his first term in office, he created a presidential commission to investigate what he said was widespread voter fraud. The organization was dissolved after finding that there was no evidence to support this.
After losing the 2020 election, Trump repeatedly claimed that the vote was rigged even though many studies have found no evidence to support his claims.
In Georgia, he urged the secretary of state to “get 11,780 votes”, the number needed to end Biden’s victory there.
Trump and his allies later faced two lawsuits — one state, one federal — on grounds that they sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The federal case was dropped when Trump was re-elected in 2024, according to Justice Department rules not to impeach the president.
Meanwhile, the federal case fell apart after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was barred from prosecuting the case.
Trump, however, continues to claim that he is the winner of the 2020 race, despite the fact that there is no evidence to support his claim.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which oversees cybersecurity, has called the 2020 election “the most secure in American history”.
The investigation, including several related to Trump, did not produce evidence that voting machines or foreign cyber intrusions changed the results.
What has the administration done recently to advance Trump’s claims in 2020?
In January, FBI agents descended on Fulton County, Georgia, to serve a search warrant to collect election materials related to the 2020 race.
Officials in Fulton County, which includes the state capital, Atlanta, have protested against the investigation and are calling for the return of election secrecy.
He also said that he was not given a list of what was taken.
An FBI memo obtained by US media this month shows that the agency has removed hundreds of agents from the case, which officials say is “improper conduct in the 2020 presidential election”.
Trump has asked Bill Pulte, the director of National Intelligence, to destroy documents related to the 2020 election.
What do Trump’s claims have to do with the midterms?
Trump appears to be stepping up his claims of election fraud as the November midterms approach.
According to a report published by Reuters in May, Trump said the 2020 vote had been rigged more than 107 times in the past six months.
Earlier, Mr Trump said that California’s general election in June was “tampered with”.
Last week, he called Los Angeles mayoral winner Spencer Pratt to the White House after he said Pratt lost because of voter fraud. “What he did to this man was unbelievable,” Trump told Fox News on Sunday.
Trump has said he fears he could be impeached if his party does not have control of Congress within the deadline. A major Democratic victory in the middle of the season could also affect his plans for the final two years of his presidency.
What has Trump done to advance his electoral reform agenda?
Since returning to office in 2025, Trump has pushed to change voting patterns.
Under the US Constitution, the administration of elections falls to the states. It is not in the hands of the federal government.
But critics say Trump is trying to rig the election and tighten voting rights.
Trump has promoted voting restrictions like those in the SAVE America Act, a law that would require voters to provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport.
Previously, non-citizens were not allowed to vote. But critics argue that the SAVE America Act would create a barrier for voters who don’t have access to such documents. Many states allow voting with other identification, such as a driver’s license or Social Security number.
Trump also wanted to reduce spending email polls through bills like the SAVE America Act and executive orders. But federal courts have repeatedly blocked his efforts.
In June, for example, a Supreme Court ruled that states should continue counting votes after election day, as long as they are postponed on or before that day.
Trump has also faced legal challenges against his attempts to force states to hand over their voter names and create a voter file. And he has threatened to withhold funding — including from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — if states fail to comply.
Earlier this month, its officials issued letters to election officials across the country, warning that they “may be prosecuted” if there are cases of non-citizen voting.
But non-citizen votes are rare, as is voter fraud.
How will Democrats respond to Thursday’s speech?
Democrats warned against giving Trump airtime for his baseless claims.
“Mr. Trump will use a long-term address to make false statements about our election to find excuses to interfere in the middle of our time,” Senator Mark Warner. he wrote on social media on Wednesday.
“It is up to all of us to follow the facts and not accept his constant distortions and lies.”
Another senator, Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, to point to Trump’s second impeachment as evidence of his willingness to interfere in the election.
“This is the same person who was charged after launching a terrorist attack to overturn the election,” Lujan said, calling Trump a “fraud”.
