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{"id":26004,"date":"2026-07-17T14:22:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/after-6-years-trump-brings-his-election-obsession-to-primetime-at-the-white-house\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:22:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:22:27","slug":"after-6-years-trump-brings-his-election-obsession-to-primetime-at-the-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/after-6-years-trump-brings-his-election-obsession-to-primetime-at-the-white-house\/","title":{"rendered":"After 6 years, Trump brings his election obsession to primetime at the White House"},"content":{"rendered":"<div xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\n<p>In the weeks after Donald Trump <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/joe-biden-wins-white-house-ap-fd58df73aa677acb74fce2a69adb71f9\">lost to Joe Biden in 2020<\/a><\/span>the people Trump appointed to run the Department of Justice, cybersecurity agencies and intelligence departments all said the same thing &mdash; the election was fair, legitimate and free of major fraud or foreign interference.<\/p>\n<p>In his second term, Trump, a Republican, has tried to use the levers of power to rewrite that well-settled history, something that he&rsquo;s expected to try again on Thursday night with <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-primetime-address-elections-5c84a59dffc20c12ed2fcb822fa950c9\">an address to the nation<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>He has already appointed <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-administration-2020-election-conspiracies-doj-d91027ec4152419cd761a6087d8139c6\">loyalists who have echoed his false claims<\/a><\/span>  that <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/capitol-riot-trump-election-lies-explainer-816a43ed964e6d35f03b0930e6e56c82\">the 2020 election was stolen<\/a><\/span>  and made clear he expects everyone to follow his lead. <\/p>\n<div data-align-center>                    <bsp-figure>    <\/p>\n<figure data-openoverlay>                        <a id=\"image-aa0000\"><\/a>                             <picture data-crop=\"imgEn-medium-nocrop\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" type=\"image\/webp\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\"><source media=\"(min-width: 600px)\" type=\"image\/webp\" width=\"767\" height=\"511\"><source media=\"(min-width: 600px)\" width=\"767\" height=\"511\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" width=\"599\" height=\"399\"><source width=\"599\" height=\"399\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Supporters of President Donald Trump carry flags and signs as they parade past the Capitol in Washington, after news that President-elect Joe Biden had defeated the incumbent in the race for the White House, in Washington, Nov. 7, 2020. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite, File)\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"599\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/b559c58\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/6000x4000+0+0\/resize\/599x399!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Ff3%2F1d%2F77187b0d4d619527beb1fd37019d%2Fap26180754958632.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<div><bsp-read-more data-more-button-text=\"Read More\" data-less-button-text=\"Read Less\" data-expand=\"ReadMore-expand\" data-limit=\"110\" data-main-class=\"ReadMore\"><figcaption>\n<p>Supporters of President Donald Trump carry flags and signs as they parade past the Capitol in Washington, after news that President-elect Joe Biden had defeated the incumbent in the race for the White House, in Washington, Nov. 7, 2020. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite, File)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/bsp-read-more><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>        <template data-bsp-figure-overlay-template>                                <\/p>\n<div data-slidenumber=\"0\" data-slidescount=\"1\">                        <bsp-carousel-read-more data-show-less data-expand=\"ReadMore-expand\" data-main-class=\"ReadMore\" data-more-id data-less-id>                            <\/p>\n<p>Supporters of President Donald Trump carry flags and signs as they parade past the Capitol in Washington, after news that President-elect Joe Biden had defeated the incumbent in the race for the White House, in Washington, Nov. 7, 2020. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite, File)<\/p>\n<p>                        <\/bsp-carousel-read-more>                    <\/div>\n<p>    <\/template>    <\/bsp-figure>                <\/div>\n<p>In an indication of how fealty to Trump&rsquo;s lies has become a litmus test for his administration, many of his nominees have steadfastly refused to directly answer the question of who won in 2020, preferring to tersely note that Biden, a Democrat, became president. Jay Clayton, Trump&rsquo;s nominee to become the next national intelligence director, was the latest to repeat that formula in <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/clayton-intelligence-director-trump-senate-1532baf2e182ede8d67e2d5561f296a8\">his confirmation hearing<\/a><\/span>  on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He had the most electoral votes,&rdquo; Clayton said of Biden. &ldquo;He was declared the winner.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And who has the most electoral votes? Is it the person who wins or the person who loses?&rdquo; asked Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s your characterization,&rdquo; Clayton responded. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to continue to do this.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The president has embraced baroque conspiracy theories about an international cabal that penetrated U.S. voting machines that have led to <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-trial-explainer-trump-fbd401a951905879d837a8860b3bec5e\">libel suits<\/a><\/span>  against his allies when they&rsquo;ve repeated the claims.<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of his speech, Trump has teased &ldquo;really big news&rdquo; and said &ldquo;it doesn&rsquo;t get bigger, because without free and fair elections, you don&rsquo;t have a country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Election experts fear another round of falsehoods. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There has been six-plus years of consistent findings from the intelligence community and from everyone who&rsquo;s looked at it that there was no foreign interference in 2020, and our voting systems were secure and accurate,&rdquo; said Victoria Bassetti of States United, a nonpartisan group supporting the state officials who run elections. &ldquo;I suppose the president could come up with some new assertion or new conclusion. It would fly in the face of all the evidence.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div data-align-center>                    <bsp-figure>    <\/p>\n<figure data-openoverlay>                        <a id=\"image-540000\"><\/a>                             <picture data-crop=\"imgEn-medium-nocrop\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" type=\"image\/webp\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\"><source media=\"(min-width: 600px)\" type=\"image\/webp\" width=\"767\" height=\"511\"><source media=\"(min-width: 600px)\" width=\"767\" height=\"511\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" width=\"599\" height=\"399\"><source width=\"599\" height=\"399\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"President Donald Trump shakes hands with Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., as he arrives to speak during a roundtable at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"599\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/ce74674\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/2670x1780+0+0\/resize\/599x399!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Fa8%2F94%2F271d65fa46218c44b12d9f266566%2Fap26197034536438.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<div><bsp-read-more data-more-button-text=\"Read More\" data-less-button-text=\"Read Less\" data-expand=\"ReadMore-expand\" data-limit=\"110\" data-main-class=\"ReadMore\"><figcaption>\n<p>President Donald Trump shakes hands with Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., as he arrives to speak during a roundtable at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/bsp-read-more><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>        <template data-bsp-figure-overlay-template>                                <\/p>\n<div data-slidenumber=\"0\" data-slidescount=\"1\">                        <bsp-carousel-read-more data-show-less data-expand=\"ReadMore-expand\" data-main-class=\"ReadMore\" data-more-id data-less-id>                            <\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump shakes hands with Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., as he arrives to speak during a roundtable at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)<\/p>\n<p>                        <\/bsp-carousel-read-more>                    <\/div>\n<p>    <\/template>    <\/bsp-figure>                <\/div>\n<h2>Huge range of reviews find same thing: No major fraud<\/h2>\n<p>There&rsquo;s been an enormous amount of reviews of the 2020 election. Trump and his allies <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-losing-election-lawsuits-36d113484ac0946fa5f0614deb7de15e\">lost dozens of court cases<\/a><\/span>  challenging the results, sometimes before judges the president appointed himself. <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/joe-biden-wisconsin-presidential-elections-state-elections-madison-9a2f172dd8074668ded26bd5b0b41fbb\">Numerous audits<\/a><\/span>, <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-georgia-elections-4eeea3b24f10de886bcdeab6c26b680a\">recounts<\/a><\/span>  and <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/elections-government-and-politics-nevada-ed4d5296d9fd7fd9afd83a3fe845c205\">investigations<\/a><\/span>including <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-joe-biden-election-2020-elections-government-and-politics-4b6643aa699480dc63cbce8555aac946\">several by Republicans<\/a><\/span>found no major problems with the vote or count.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s own <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/barr-no-widespread-election-fraud-b1f1488796c9a98c4b1a9061a6c7f49d\">attorney general at the time, William Barr, said there were no signs of significant fraud<\/a><\/span>a statement that earned him Trump&rsquo;s ire. Trump&rsquo;s appointee to run the agency that watches for cyberattacks on American election infrastructure, Chris Krebs, declared that the 2020 election was secure and there were no signs of tampering &mdash; which led Trump to <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/donald-trump-fires-christopher-krebs-dhs-5e63923e0c11c9155eb5af2362d78548\">fire Krebs<\/a><\/span>  and demand <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-retaliation-miles-taylor-chris-krebs-efb1416926df9d1086fa21349a18f90b\">an investigation of him<\/a><\/span>  upon returning to power in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>An <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/joe-biden-donald-trump-iran-moscow-elections-c640ed02202c9d44f0ad186ebd0b3396\">intelligence assessment<\/a><\/span>  released in the early days of the Biden administration but completed on Jan. 7, 2021, in Trump&rsquo;s last days in office, found no foreign tampering with vote totals or election equipment in 2020. And, last year, Trump signed a <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2025\/09\/03\/2025-16943\/continuation-of-the-national-emergency-with-respect-to-foreign-interference-in-or-undermining-public\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">federal document<\/a><\/span>  as part of a regular review of possible foreign influence in elections that declared &ldquo;there has been no evidence of a foreign power altering the outcome or vote tabulation in any United States election.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Untold taxpayer resources&rsquo; reinvestigating the election<\/h2>\n<p>Since returning to office, Trump has launched <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/georgia-fbi-2020-election-investigation-trump-a1d9f555519bb3ee1e39594b8eab0a4f\">a review of the 2020 vote<\/a><\/span>. Federal agents have seized voting records in Democratic-run Fulton County, Georgia, and Republican-run Maricopa County, Arizona &mdash; two major metropolitan swing state counties that figured prominently in 2020 conspiracy theories. <\/p>\n<p>Trump tapped Kurt Olsen, a prominent lawyer in the world of election conspiracy theorists, to head the probe. Olsen was previously sanctioned by the Arizona Supreme Court for false statements in a lawsuit he brought to challenge the 2022 loss of an Arizona governor&rsquo;s race by one of Trump&rsquo;s allies.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He has committed untold taxpayer resources,&rdquo; said David Becker, a former Department of Justice lawyer who now leads the Center for Election Integrity &amp; Research. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve found nothing.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A search warrant affidavit filed in the Fulton County case was full of <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/fbi-georgia-elections-fulton-county-2020-ballots-9dfecd778c09134e9aa0bba2848718f5\">old, debunked conspiracy theories<\/a><\/span>  about the vote in the county. The <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/georgia-fbi-2020-election-investigation-trump-a1d9f555519bb3ee1e39594b8eab0a4f\">FBI reassigned hundreds of analysts<\/a><\/span>  to go through the material.<\/p>\n<div data-align-center>                    <bsp-figure>    <\/p>\n<figure data-openoverlay>                        <a id=\"image-890000\"><\/a>                             <picture data-crop=\"imgEn-medium-nocrop\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" type=\"image\/webp\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\"><source media=\"(min-width: 600px)\" type=\"image\/webp\" width=\"767\" height=\"511\"><source media=\"(min-width: 600px)\" width=\"767\" height=\"511\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" width=\"599\" height=\"399\"><source width=\"599\" height=\"399\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A worker returns voting machines to storage at the Fulton County Election preparation Center Nov. 4, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo\/John Bazemore, File)\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"599\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/8839e23\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4434x2956+0+0\/resize\/599x399!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F9c%2Fdd%2F0ea3da47427fbdb47ee159d7185c%2Fap25136857369483.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<div><bsp-read-more data-more-button-text=\"Read More\" data-less-button-text=\"Read Less\" data-expand=\"ReadMore-expand\" data-limit=\"110\" data-main-class=\"ReadMore\"><figcaption>\n<p>A worker returns voting machines to storage at the Fulton County Election preparation Center Nov. 4, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo\/John Bazemore, File)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/bsp-read-more><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>        <template data-bsp-figure-overlay-template>                                <\/p>\n<div data-slidenumber=\"0\" data-slidescount=\"1\">                        <bsp-carousel-read-more data-show-less data-expand=\"ReadMore-expand\" data-main-class=\"ReadMore\" data-more-id data-less-id>                            <\/p>\n<p>A worker returns voting machines to storage at the Fulton County Election preparation Center Nov. 4, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo\/John Bazemore, File)<\/p>\n<p>                        <\/bsp-carousel-read-more>                    <\/div>\n<p>    <\/template>    <\/bsp-figure>                <\/div>\n<h2>Conspiracy theories have led to libel cases<\/h2>\n<p>Still, election conspiracy theorists have been buzzing &mdash; as they have ever since Election Day in 2020 &mdash; that Trump is about to reveal irrefutable evidence of massive election fraud. <\/p>\n<p>One version alleges that Venezuela and possibly other countries manipulated U.S. voting machines to deprive Trump of a victory. Venezuela&rsquo;s former president, Nicolas Maduro, is currently awaiting trial in Manhattan on federal charges of drug trafficking after the U.S. military took him from that country&rsquo;s capital.<\/p>\n<p>Those theories have led to massive payouts in libel lawsuits brought by voting machine companies and others. Fox News <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-trial-trump-2020-0ac71f75acfacc52ea80b3e747fb0afe\">paid $787.5 million to settle one lawsuit<\/a><\/span>  over it airing those claims and others on the air in late 2020. Conservative networks <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/smartmatic-newsmax-lawsuit-2020-election-96d35dc10009b68cbb548ef7bea10284\">Newsmax and<\/a><\/span><span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/2020-election-voting-machines-smartmatic-conspiracy-theories-2d6774bf7730c8e26c32b47d06ea99b5\">One America News<\/a><\/span>  have also reached settlements with voting companies over airing those allegations. <\/p>\n<p>A Denver jury found that Mike Lindell, a prominent election conspiracy theorist who Trump this week endorsed as a Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota, <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/mike-lindell-dominion-voting-defamation-2020-election-af473792a6e395d86ea6ca0f97742c3f\">defamed an employee with a voting machine company<\/a><\/span>  by calling him a traitor.<\/p>\n<p>Becker noted there has been a clear pattern over the six years of election conspiracy theories surrounding Trump&rsquo;s loss. Conspiracy theorists, including Trump himself, make sweeping allegations in public, sometimes with what seems to be massive reams of documentation from elaborate election databases. But they&rsquo;ve lost regularly in court, where the threshold is whether there&rsquo;s any factual basis to the claims.<\/p>\n<p>He suggested that anything new from Trump on elections be subjected to that same scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If someone&rsquo;s alleging a crime that occurred six years ago, we shouldn&rsquo;t be responding to their claims,&rdquo; Becker said. &ldquo;We should be demanding they meet the burden of proof.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-election-falsehoods-primetime-address-0b149a2c1adcba340174ee4e30b15133\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the weeks after Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020the people Trump appointed to run the Department of Justice, cybersecurity agencies and intelligence departments all said the same thing &mdash; the election was fair, legitimate and free of major fraud or foreign interference. In his second term, Trump, a Republican, has tried to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trump"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}