Trump has accused ‘shocking vulnerabilities’ in US election security ahead of midterms.

US President Donald Trump has delivered a first-ever speech in which he accused China of meddling in the 2020 election and made allegations of “shocking vulnerabilities” in US voting systems.

Speaking from the White House on Thursday, Trump They have made unproven claims about voter fraud and foreign interference in the 2020 election that was lost to Joe Biden.

In a half-hour speech three months before the midterm elections, he said he has released hundreds of intelligence documents that support his claims that Beijing tried to sway the election in Biden’s favor.

The US intelligence community has previously concluded that China did not interfere in the 2020 election.

During his address, Trump spoke in front of several members of his team, but reporters were unable to ask the president questions.

In his speech, he accused China of “illegal procurement” of 220 million voter documents, including personal information.

He accused Trump of not reporting the findings to government officials or Congress, who were “responsible for sounding the alarm” that voter data in 18 states had been bought, stolen or hacked by China.

Trump has not provided evidence that China used the data it allegedly collected to alter voting systems or influence the outcome of the election.

In response to his remarks, the Chinese Embassy in Washington told Reuters that Beijing “has never interfered in the presidential election and will never do so.” The BBC has contacted China’s foreign ministry for comment.

Democrats have accused Trump of trying to sow uncertainty about the security of the upcoming November midterms, which will determine control of Congress for the remainder of his presidency.

“Let’s be clear — voters in America elect their leaders, not the other way around,” senior Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer posted on social media after the speech.

“Democrats will fight like hell to ensure that every American voter can cast their vote freely without any hindrance or interference from Donald Trump,” he added.

The president’s comments contradict previous US intelligence reports. The 2021 US National Intelligence Council report said it was “highly confident” China would not interfere in the 2020 presidential election.

“China has not deployed interference efforts and considered but did not deploy efforts intended to change the outcome of the US presidential election,” the report said.

He said this was possible because China “did not see the election results as useful to face the risk of a counterattack if China was caught.”

Trump delivered the White House address after the release of a new poll from The Washington Post-Ipsos, which showed his approval rating had fallen to 37%, with many voters disillusioned by the rising cost of living and the ongoing war with Iran.

Elsewhere in his speech, the president said America’s voting machines are “extremely vulnerable” to interference by foreign adversaries, including Russia, China and Iran.

The weaknesses of America’s electoral infrastructure are well documented. Some say that if Trump won in 2018

During the address, Trump also alleged that a state investigation by Michigan law enforcement found a Democratic-affiliated group engaged in voter registration fraud, but was prevented from taking action by the FBI before a statute of limitations expired.

“It was pay, play and fraud,” he said, although he provided no evidence that votes or tablets were changed or voting machines were hacked.

On the other hand, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security revealed that 278,000 non-citizens are registered to vote. None of those people said they voted or influenced any election results.

At the end of his speech, Trump again called for the passage of the SAVE America Act, which bans most mail-in voting, requires proof of citizenship for voter registration and photo ID to vote.

That bill has been stalled in the Senate for months.