He continued: “That information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences, and other sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities. Which is exactly what was happening.”
Mr Trump, sounding hoarse, claimed China had “fought like hell” to stop him winning since 2019, by paying journalists to run negative stories about him and “influence” business leaders to turn against him.
Beijing also worked to “influence the results of the US mid-term elections” in mid-2018, he said. Mr Trump did not declare that he won the 2020 election or that the alleged Chinese intervention had prevented him from defeating Joe Biden.
The White House released a trove of declassified intelligence material on its website to back up the president’s claims.
The Trump administration also claimed on the website that “our machines and ballot-counting systems are exposed to hacking and manipulation”, alleging that “evidence of fraud has been buried”.
Millions of ballots ‘floating aimlessly’
It added: “We still have elections with no voter ID, no proof of citizenship, and tens of millions of ballots floating aimlessly through the mail.”
In an email to supporters, the Democrats’ governing body accused the president of “lying about the 2020 elections to give himself cover as he tries to interfere with the upcoming mid-terms”.
It said: “Tonight, Donald Trump desperately tried to justify his assault on free and fair elections with lies about the 2020 election he lost.
“Trump and Republicans continue to lay the groundwork for interfering with the midterm elections in an attempt to seize power. There’s one simple reason for this brazen power grab: they know they’re going to lose the mid-terms.”
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrat leader in the House, added: “Donald Trump has once again chosen to spew deliberate and dangerous lies because the economy is a disaster and he knows that the American people have had enough.
“He has cynically and corruptly decided to call into question our free and fair elections before a single ballot has been cast.”