Former President Donald Trump announced he will deliver a national speech on Thursday, July 16, 2026, at 9 P.M. Eastern Time focused on foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Trump made this announcement on July 13 via Truth Social, saying, "President Trump will be making a Speech to the Nation on Thursday evening, at 9 P.M. Eastern. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" [5].
The speech will highlight newly declassified intelligence reports revealing planned influence operations by Russia and Iran, with China also considered a possible actor, though the reports found no evidence that foreign powers altered any technical voting aspects such as voter registrations, ballots, or final results [1, 2, 3, 6, 7]. Trump stated the address will emphasize the importance of free and fair elections. He said, "这真的是个大新闻。我们国家必须振作起来。我们周四要讨论的事情非常重要——没有自由公正的选举，就没有国家。" [6] and "這就是我們週四要談的內容，沒有比這更重要的了，因為沒有自由公正的選舉就沒有國家可言，我們也會討論其他事情，但這將是非常重大的聲明" [7].
Trump has repeatedly claimed he won the 2020 election but lost due to massive fraud and foreign interference despite courts and audits finding no evidence to support those allegations [1, 6, 7]. Key U.S. officials including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin are expected to join Trump during the speech, according to sources [2].
In a related development, Trump recently announced plans to reimpose a U.S. naval blockade on Iran and levy a 20% fee on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz [4, 5, 7].
Trump is scheduled to deliver the primetime address to the nation on Thursday, July 16, at 9 P.M. Eastern Time as confirmed by multiple sources [1, 2, 3].
