{"text":[[{"start":11.35,"text":"Donald Trump used a lengthy primetime speech on Thursday to revive previously debunked claims that China interfered in the 2020 presidential election, casting doubt on the integrity of the US electoral system ahead of the midterms."}],[{"start":24.4,"text":"Just over three months before the congressional elections in November, opinion polls suggest Democrats are poised for gains as the Republican president appears stuck in a months-long war with Iran that has driven up the cost of living."}],[{"start":37.599999999999994,"text":"But in a nearly half-hour speech from the White House on Thursday night, Trump tried to turn the nation’s attention to his six-year-old, unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election was “stolen”. "}],[{"start":49.39999999999999,"text":"Trump announced the declassification of US intelligence that he claimed showed “shocking vulnerabilities” in American election infrastructure and evidence of “hacking, exploitation and foreign interference” as he sought to sow distrust in the electoral system."}],[{"start":66.14999999999999,"text":"He also renewed claims that China had engaged in a widespread effort to sway the 2020 election in favour of Joe Biden and accused US officials of trying to “actively suppress and downplay information” about Beijing’s meddling."}],[{"start":80.69999999999999,"text":"The speech marked a striking effort by Trump to marshal the resources of the intelligence community to support his claims about election meddling and legislative agenda to tighten voter registration rules."}],[{"start":91.94999999999999,"text":"The president has for years maintained, without evidence, that he defeated Biden in the 2020 election. In recent months, he has ratcheted up those claims, pre-emptively casting doubt on the security and validity of November’s midterms."}],[{"start":106.35,"text":"The US intelligence community has previously concluded China did not interfere in the 2020 presidential election."}],[{"start":113.1,"text":"In a 2021 report, the National Intelligence Council said China “did not deploy interference efforts and considered but did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the US presidential election”. "}],[{"start":126.89999999999999,"text":"The report noted the national intelligence officer for cyber differed from the majority view of the intelligence community by assessing that China took some steps to undermine Trump’s re-election."}],[{"start":137.7,"text":"“The intelligence record does not show large Chinese campaigns to influence US national elections,” said Dennis Wilder, a former CIA China analysis head. He added that Beijing did use influence operations on social media, such as TikTok, to affect American views, particularly on US-China relations."}],[{"start":156.75,"text":"A spokesperson for China’s embassy in the US said in a statement that “China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the US”. "}],[{"start":165.85,"text":"“The US election is an internal matter of the US. Its outcome is determined by the votes of the American people,” the spokesperson added."}],[{"start":173.75,"text":"Democratic lawmakers accused the president of sowing distrust in the electoral system."}],[{"start":179,"text":"“Tonight, Americans heard the president once again repeat claims about our elections that have been investigated for years and repeatedly rejected by the intelligence community,” said Senator Mark Warner, vice-chair of the Senate intelligence committee."}],[{"start":192.95,"text":"Warner added that the “greatest danger to our elections” was a “false narrative [that] elections cannot be trusted”."}],[{"start":199.64999999999998,"text":"The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said in a statement that Trump was “working to rig the midterms before a single vote has even been cast”."}],[{"start":208.54999999999998,"text":"During the address, the White House released files of heavily redacted, declassified intelligence reports related to election integrity."}],[{"start":216.54999999999998,"text":"Among the documents was a CIA report produced in June of this year that examined Venezuela’s ability to manipulate its own electronic voting machines. It said US intelligence “did not definitively confirm” that large-scale electronic vote rigging had been carried out in the country."}],[{"start":234.04999999999998,"text":"The memo also does not detail any Venezuelan attempts to meddle in US elections. Until 2018, Venezuela used voting machines made by Smartmatic, which Trump has previously sought to blame for his loss in 2020. "}],[{"start":246.89999999999998,"text":"The president made only passing reference to Russia, despite findings by the US intelligence community that Vladimir Putin had authorised a campaign to influence the 2020 election in Trump’s favour. "}],[{"start":259.04999999999995,"text":"Trump’s effort to cast the voting system as “broken and vulnerable” — reviving claims about non-citizens on electoral rolls and vulnerable voting machines — comes months ahead of midterm elections in which the president’s party historically suffers steep losses. "}],[{"start":276.44999999999993,"text":"In 2018, halfway through Trump’s first term in office, Democrats took back control of the House of Representatives. With the Iran war dragging on and driving up consumer prices, opinion polls suggest Democrats could be on course for a similarly strong performance this November. "}],[{"start":294.8499999999999,"text":"Victory could hand them the power to stall Trump’s legislative agenda and launch investigations and impeachment proceedings."}],[{"start":302.2499999999999,"text":"Republican lawmakers who would like the president to focus on the cost of living have been wary of Trump’s unrelenting claims about flaws in the electoral system."}],[{"start":312.4999999999999,"text":"Senate majority leader John Thune has resisted pressure from the White House to scrap Senate rules in an effort to push through the so-called Save America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, among other measures. "}],[{"start":327.4999999999999,"text":"Trump again called for the bill’s passage on Thursday night, saying the only reason one would vote against the measure was if they “want to cheat”."}],[{"start":335.6999999999999,"text":"Additional reporting by Joe Leahy in Beijing"}],[{"start":345.5999999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784290621_4708.mp3"}