MS NOW94%
Facing court losses, Trump turns to primetime to push election conspiracy theories 40%
By Laura Barrón-López79%
7/16/2026, 10:29:27 AM
Topics: Election Integrity, Voter Fraud Claims, Presidential Speeches, Legal Challenges, Public Opinion, Foreign Interference, Political Strategy, Campaign Messaging, Public Approval, International Relations, Economic Issues, Immigration Policy, Party Politics, Voter Mobilization, Judicial System, Election Administration, Voting Rights, Government Regulations, National Security, Law Enforcement, State Politics, Voter Education, Social Media
Keywords: Donald Trump, Election Conspiracy Theories, Court Losses, Election, Primetime Speech, Voter Data, Foreign Adversaries, China, Personal Vindication, Job Approval Rating, War With Iran, Gas Prices, Economic Dissatisfaction, Immigration Enforcement, Republican, Base, Guillotine, James Comey, Bill Pulte, Karoline Leavitt, Anonymous Sources, Presidential Power, Federal Judges, Unredacted Voter Rolls, Mail Ballots, Federal Database, Executive Orders, Military Voters, Overseas Voters, Citizenship, Mail In Voting Registration, Public Assistance, Election Rules, Election System, Mail In Voting, Local Officials, Anti Terrorism Funding, Election Officials, Criminal Prosecution, Noncitizen Voting, Election Monitors, Federal Immigration Agents, Polling Places, Arizona, Maricopa County, Search Warrants, Michigan, Ingham County Clerk, Barb Byrum, Social Security Numbers, Dangerous, Threatening Voicemails, Threatening Emails, Election Conspiracy, Election Workers, Social Media, Trump Supporters, Carlisle Pennsylvania, Fatigue, Alicia, Jordan, Conservative Pennsylvania Voter, Akayla Gardner
BS Summary: This article contains 33 faulty reasoning types, including Unattributed Quote, Anecdotal, and Biased Writer Voice, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 45.8% saturation with 403 hits. Analysis detected 2,216 faulty-reasoning hits from 880 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 45.1% and a BS Rank of 40% (12,473 of 20,517 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 60.80% of the article peer group.
President Donald Trump’s sweeping campaign to reshape how America’s elections are run — and to force states to hand over sensitive voter data — has repeatedly lost in the court of law.
So on Thursday night, the president will again take his case to the court of public opinion.
Trump is scheduled to deliver a primetime speech from the White House reviving his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen, according to administration officials , who told MS NOW that they expect him to allege election influence efforts by foreign adversaries, including China.
Thursday’s speech is about “personal vindication,” a person close to the White House told MS NOW.
The 2020 election “keeps the president up at night.”
“He could care less about anything else,” said the person close to the White House, who was granted anonymity to describe internal deliberations.
“Is this something Republicans need to be talking about four months before an election?
Absolutely not.”
The challenges for the president are piling up.
He has a record-low job approval rating and an escalating war with Iran that will soon enter its sixth month.
Gas prices are on the rise, economic dissatisfaction is widespread among the American public, and his immigration enforcement crackdown resulted in federal agents killing two people within a week.
Against that backdrop, some Trump allies question the wisdom of the president focusing his message on relitigating the 2020 election.
“He created a base that wants the guillotine,” a former Trump administration official told MS NOW, given anonymity to address a sensitive topic.
“His base cheered when they arrested James Comey for “86 47.”
That’s what he needs to keep his base activated and energized.”
Separately, the person close to the White House told MS NOW that the political calculus is misguided.
“There is no one adviser, outside of maybe [acting Director of National Intelligence] Bill Pulte, that is telling the president, ‘Yes, this is the thing we should be focusing on,’” they said.
Asked about Republicans who would prefer the president to focus his attention elsewhere, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told MS NOW that “as usual, anonymous sources are speculating,” adding that “nobody knows yet what President Trump will ultimately say.”
Ultimately, Trump has faced defeat after defeat in his battle to expand his presidential power over the election process.
Federal judges have ruled against the administration at least 21 times in cases involving elections and voter data, according to a review of the rulings by MS NOW.
The judges were appointed by presidents of both parties, including at least six named by Trump.
Courts have blocked efforts to obtain unredacted voter rolls, halted new limits on mail ballots and stopped a program that screened voters against a federal database — a process that resulted in some citizens being purged from the rolls.
Judges also blocked all three executive orders Trump has signed to overhaul election procedures, including a requirement that military and overseas voters produce documents proving citizenship and restrictions on mail-in voting registration for people receiving public assistance.
The White House did not respond to questions about the administration’s court losses in its attempts to change election rules and obtain voter rolls.
The losses have not slowed the president’s public campaign against the election system, mail-in voting and the local officials who run elections.
Beyond the courts, the administration has pressed states that have not complied with its proposed changes by threatening to withhold anti-terrorism funding , sending letters to election officials threatening criminal prosecution over noncitizen voting and dispatching election monitors.
Federal officials have not ruled out sending federal immigration agents to polling places.
An election official in Arizona’s Maricopa County, where the administration has sought to investigate previous election results, said their office is preparing for a range of scenarios, including federal agents entering their building with search warrants.
In Michigan, Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum said she regularly fields questions from voters asking why the state will not hand over data such as Social Security numbers.
Byrum, a Democrat, said the president’s claims are “dangerous” and have led clerks across the state to receive threatening voicemails and emails.
“Election conspiracy travels around the globe before I even have my first sip of cup of coffee in the morning,” Byrum said.
“This is not safe.”
The White House did not answer questions about the threats and intimidation facing election workers.
Byrum said she plans to respond to Thursday’s speech by pushing out factual information on social media.
The speech may even fall flat with Trump’s supporters.
Asked Wednesday about Trump’s planned speech on the 2020 election, some supporters of the president in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, expressed fatigue with the subject.
“It’s time to move on from that,” said Alicia, a 56-year-old self-employed woman who described herself as pro-Trump and declined to give her last name.
“It doesn’t really need to be talked about a whole lot anymore.”
“That’s behind us,” said Jordan, a conservative Pennsylvania voter, who declined to share his last name.
“We can’t change the past; let’s just keep moving forward.”
Akayla Gardner contributed reporting.
The post Facing court losses, Trump turns to primetime to push election conspiracy theories appeared first on MS NOW .
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