@cspanofficial: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) accused President Trump of trying to subvert the midterm elections as he offered a preemptive response to the president's primetime address Thursday night. "Trump's primetime speech tonight isn't simply about relitigating his overwhelming defeat in the 2020 election," Sen. Schumer said. "It's about undermining the 2026 election before a single vote has been cast." The White House has offered few details about what the speech will cover, but President Trump suggested Tuesday the focus will be on "free and fair elections." "Thursday is, it doesn't get bigger because without free and fair elections, you don't have a country," President Trump said in the Oval Office Tuesday. "We'll be discussing other things too. But it's going to be a very big announcement." Sen. Schumer said he expected the president to rehash his claims of fraud in the 2020 election. "Trump won't expose anything of substance about 2020; he'll just echo the same baseless, pathetic lies he's repeated for six years," he said. "Donald, you've been trying this schtick for six years. Only your little coterie of sycophants still believes these lies — no one else." The Democratic leader accused Republicans of trying to change election rules through redistricting, legal action and the SAVE America Act, a GOP-backed elections bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, photo ID to cast a ballot and significantly restrict mail-in voting. "Trump knows he can't defend Republicans' disastrous record — his disastrous record as well — so he's trying to discredit the voters who will judge it in November," Sen. Schumer said. "Trump has given up on winning over hearts and minds. Now, he's focused on rigging rules and purging voter rolls." #cspan #chuckschumer #trump #midterms

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Thursday 16 July 2026 16:46:45 GMT