Trump on China election meddling: 'Not a one-way street'

The president's apparent downplaying of the revelations appears to come as Congress appears ill-inclined to act on Trump's disclosures.

Published: July 21, 2026 12:51pm

President Donald Trump on Tuesday told reporters that he planned to address recent allegations of Chinese election meddling with Beijing, but acknowledged that the U.S. had similarly worked to influence that country.

Trump on Thursday gave a primetime address in which he outlined the findings of a declassification task force, noting that China had reportedly obtained 220 million voter registration files and that foreign governments had the ability to manipulate voting machines.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said "we’re going to talk to them about it. It took place a long time ago. I think China is maybe a little bit different today than it was then... But look, they do things and we do things to them. I’ll be honest, we do things to them, too. It’s not a one-way street."

The president's apparent downplaying of the revelations appears to come as Congress appears ill-inclined to act on Trump's disclosures. He had urged the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, a marquis voter ID bill, though lawmakers remain unwilling to push it over the threshold for passage.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.

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