Trump alleges China stole 220 million US voter files

In a primetime address on Thursday, July 16, 2026, President Donald Trump accused China of orchestrating the largest compromise of election data in American history, alleging the illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files. The president claimed the breach began during the 2020 election cycle and presented what he called an unprecedented election security nightmare.

Speaking from the White House, Trump asserted that the compromised data included names, addresses, phone numbers, and political party preferences. He said China assigned a specific data exploitation unit to the project and that its policy was to leverage opposition to force his resignation or prevent his re-election. The president further alleged that China attempted to influence the 2018 midterm elections and the 2020 presidential contest, including by trying to turn U.S. businesses against him.

A central component of Trump's allegations was that U.S. intelligence officials concealed this information. He stated that dozens of reports from agencies like the CIA and NSA on Chinese election activity were kept out of presidential briefings during the previous administration and that officials hid the discovery...