Washington, July 17 (IANS) President Donald Trump will deliver a prime-time address to the nation on Thursday (early morning India time) focused on what the White House described as protecting the integrity of US elections, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt urging Americans to reserve judgment until hearing the President’s remarks and insisting the speech would be backed by “facts” and “evidence”.
At a White House press briefing, Leavitt announced that Trump would address the nation at 9 p.m. Eastern “on protecting the integrity of our elections” and encouraged “every American to tune in”.
The White House Press Secretary repeatedly declined to discuss the contents of the address in detail, saying media reports about the speech were premature.
“I would encourage everyone to tune in tonight,” she said.
“I’ve seen a lot of reporting and frankly, misreporting about what the President will say. I think the American people will be relieved to hear what they are hearing from the President of the United States and his commitment to transparency and the focus on the integrity of our elections.”
Responding to concerns from Republican lawmakers that another focus on past elections could distract from the administration’s economic message, Leavitt said that election security transcends party politics.
“I think all Republicans and Democrats should recognise that this should be a nonpartisan issue. If we don’t have safe and secure elections in our country, we cannot have a country. It is a vital part of our democracy, of our Constitutional Republic,” Leavitt said.
When pressed repeatedly on why the President continued to raise questions about previous elections, Leavitt defended Trump’s position and criticised the media for dismissing concerns shared by his supporters.
“The media has refused to acknowledge that tens of millions of Americans across the country share the concerns of this President about the sanctity of our elections,” she said.
She added: “Everything he (President Trump) is saying will be backed by… facts and by evidence that will be provided this evening.”
Asked why, if the evidence existed, no criminal charges had yet been filed, Leavitt replied that Trump had not yet revealed or declassified the relevant material.
“He hasn’t revealed it yet. He hasn’t declassified the documents yet and you will see what he says tonight, and then we’ll move forward appropriately from there,” she said, referring further questions about possible prosecutions to the Justice Department.
Leavitt also defended the administration against criticism that election issues were overshadowing other priorities, saying Trump was simultaneously advancing his economic agenda, foreign policy and domestic initiatives.
“The administration and especially this President, are able to walk and chew gum at the same time and tackle a number of issues on a number of different subjects every single day,” she said.
Trump has consistently maintained that strengthening election security remains one of his top legislative priorities.
The White House is backing the Save America Act, which the administration says would strengthen election safeguards, and has urged Congress to pass the legislation.
Election integrity has remained a central theme of Trump’s political messaging since returning to office, while Democrats and many election officials continue to maintain that recent US federal elections were conducted securely.
–IANS
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