President Trump claims cover-up of Chinese election interference by so-called ‘deep state’
In a prime-time address to the nation, President Trump claimed that the so-called “deep state” was hiding evidence of Chinese election interference.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has curtailed or obstructed independent federal agencies that typically handle election security issues like the ones the president claims confronts the United States.
In a speech at the White House on July 16, President Trump argued that U.S. elections are susceptible to foreign interference and claimed that China interfered in the 2020 election. He said Americans have been “blatantly lied to” by the government for years about the security of election infrastructure, including voting machines and vote-counting systems, but the claims could not be immediately verified.
Wendy Weiser, director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, a nonpartisan think tank, said some of the agencies that pushed back on President Trump’s baseless claims of 2020 election fraud have been steadily downsizing since 2025, reducing their ability to serve as election officials and reliable voices for American voters.
“This is an attempt by our president and the federal government, his administration and its institutions, to undermine confidence in our electoral system.” Weiser said.
Weiser and other experts told USA TODAY that without such a trusted federal voice, it would be up to state election officials to keep elections secure.
CISA after 2020 election: ‘There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes’
The Constitution leaves election administration to the states. But in recent decades, federal agencies have played an increasing role in cybersecurity, sharing information about potential election threats and voluntarily testing election machines.
On July 9, President Trump fired two of the three members of the Federal Election Assistance Commission. This has shrunk the only federal agency dedicated solely to assisting local election officials in the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections.
Over the past year and a half, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which helps states prepare for cyber threats, has lost election security staff and funding. The agency defended the nation’s election security apparatus in the months leading up to Election Day, even though President Trump’s repeated warnings of massive fraud never materialized.
Shortly after the 2020 election, when Trump was still contesting the victory over former President Joe Biden, CISA issued a statement declaring the general election to be the last. ”The safest country in American history.”
“There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, altered votes, or was compromised in any way,” CISA reported at the time in an assessment that included a coalition of election security groups, including the National Association of State Election Officials.
Days later, President Trump fired the agency’s leader, Christopher Krebs.
“Explain facts rather than reassurance”
State and local election officials are already complaining that federal security assistance has been drastically reduced since Mr. Trump returned to office, leaving them on their own ahead of the midterm elections. They also said they do not expect federal agencies to reliably share election threats.
President Trump said on July 16 that his administration is committed to addressing the concerns he has raised.
“We are committed to fixing this issue, and we are also committed to working with these states and local governments to fix and patch known technical vulnerabilities before the midterm elections.”
Weiser said President Trump’s moves to shrink federal agencies and pit the Justice Department against state election officials should “raise some eyebrows.” Federal authorities seized ballots and voting records and pressured states to adopt the administration’s preferred election procedures.
“The administration has dismantled all federal programs that were available to assist states with election administration and government-wide election security. At the same time, it is asserting that there are all kinds of threats to our elections,” Weiser said.
The lack of a credible, independent, bipartisan voice at the federal level is “certainly a problem,” she says.
“Sadly, we cannot trust the federal government on this right now, and the credibility of the federal government and the credibility of our great government is undermined,” she said.
Jennifer Gaudette, an assistant professor of public policy at the University of California, Riverside, said state and local election officials should immediately refute President Trump’s claims on July 17 with facts about how elections are conducted in their jurisdictions.s. Her research shows that people are less likely to trust election misinformation from the president when it is presented alongside facts.
“I would really like to see more election officials and secretaries of state just laying out the facts instead of reassuring,” she said.
Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Reed, a Democrat, said he expects state and local election officials to work quickly on details.
“Elections are important, and it’s dangerous when people talk about them in inaccurate ways,” he said.
