Betting on Trump

Trump’s election claims add to a cloud of mistrust

The US president used a primetime address last night to argue America’s election system is broken and vulnerable to “rigging.” He pointed to documents he says show Chinese interference in the 2020 vote. But the evidence Trump offered, along with past assessments from the intelligence community, doesn’t support his broadest claims. While the material did highlight the well-documented interests of foreign governments in US elections, it stopped short of evidence of Chinese vote-tampering. Even so, the allegations, combined with claims of a “deep state” cover-up and references to Russia and even Venezuela, create a confusing picture that’s difficult for anyone to untangle. At a time when trust in US elections is at its lowest point in years, the president’s claims add to a cloud of uncertainty headed into the midterms and the 2028 presidential race. Whether they change minds may be less important than the fact that they undermine trust in the institutions that determine who wins and loses.