特朗普定于晚间黄金时段发表电视演说，外界预判讲话核心会重提 2020 年大选争议。周四，民主党阵营率先发声，提前给出反驳论调。
佐治亚州民主党联邦参议员乔恩・奥斯索夫接受记者采访。佐治亚州一直是本届政府质疑选举公正性的重点针对州，奥斯索夫表示：“倘若总统宣称佐治亚州的选举无效、或是否认本州现任联邦参议员的合法身份，本质上就是否定佐治亚全体选民。当年试图欺诈佐治亚选民的人，正是唐纳德・特朗普。”
奥斯索夫今年 11 月将迎来连任竞选，共和党将他的席位视作有望夺回的关键目标。他预判，特朗普整场演讲只会翻来覆去炒作那些早已被法院驳回的 2020 年大选争议。
奥斯索夫批评道：“今晚只会上演这么一出戏：全世界最输不起的人，借着总统黄金时段演讲发泄积怨六年的落选愤懑。一边是中东战事不断失控，全美民众生活成本持续走高，他却只揪着六年前的选举不放。” 白宫回避透露演讲细节，称主旨是守护选举公正
周四白宫简报会上，白宫新闻秘书卡罗琳・莱维特对总统演讲内容守口如瓶，仅透露讲话将围绕 “维护选举公信力” 展开。
有记者追问，不少共和党人担忧反复纠缠过往大选，会劝退中间摇摆选民。莱维特回应，特朗普会把保障选举安全作为美国民主的核心议题。
“眼下大量报道、甚至不少不实揣测，都在猜测总统今晚要说什么。相信听完总统讲话，美国民众会感到宽慰，他会阐明自己对信息透明的承诺，聚焦选举公信力建设。”
随后美国广播公司记者蕾切尔・斯科特再度提及共和党内部的政治顾虑，莱维特仅回应，一切等听完演讲再做评判。 多名资深共和党大佬直言：纠缠 2020 大选对选情毫无益处
即将卸任的共和党参议员汤姆・蒂利斯、约翰・科宁，以及共和党众议员托马斯・马西均表态，临近中期选举，反复回溯 2020 年大选不是能拉拢选民的有效话术。
被问及特朗普在中期选举前夕紧盯旧大选议题是否利于共和党，蒂利斯直言：“完全没用。我们不能再反复复盘那场早已落幕的竞选。一味回头纠结过往，就无暇放眼未来选举，总统也该把目光投向当下。”
马西认为，白宫刻意转移民众焦点：“他们试图让美国人相信，所有问题根源出在选举上，而非民众真正关心的民生难题。真正的问题不是当年竞选失利，而是我们掌权后背弃竞选承诺…… 这套说辞只是幌子，刻意把矛盾引向选举制度，回避自身施政问题。”
科宁则对本周二国家情报总监提名人杰伊・克莱顿的听证会表现不满。听证会上，克莱顿始终回避正面回答谁赢得 2020 年大选。
“整场问答很多内容都显得荒唐。” 科宁评价克莱顿，“两党实在没必要一直揪着六年前的选举不放。我们还有大量要务亟待处理，眼下最重要的就是中期选举。我们本该踏实履职为民办事，反复纠结陈年旧事，对民众没有任何好处。” 民主党议员：特朗普演讲或将左右情报总监提名投票
参议院情报委员会首席民主党议员马克・沃纳表示，特朗普今晚的演说，会影响他对克莱顿提名的投票立场。
“如果特朗普如我们预料那般抛出毫无依据的极端说辞，还妄图借此干预选举，那我们更需要一名敢向权力讲真话的国家情报总监。”
参议院少数党领袖查克・舒默直接点破特朗普的真实心态：“他极度害怕 2026 年竞选失利，才刻意转移公众注意力。”
舒默表示：“说到底，特朗普若想赢得民心，不该兜售关于 2020 大选的虚假论调，而是专注降低民众生活开支、整顿政府乱象、清除贪腐问题。”
Democrats launch prebuttal to Trump's primetime address: 'He's scared to death' of the midterms
Democrats on Thursday offered their prebuttal toPresident Donald Trump's prime time addressthat they expect to focus on the 2020 election.
Georgia Democratic Sen. JonOssoff, whose home state has been the target of many of the administration's election challenges, told reporters Thursday, "If the president declares Georgia's elections illegitimate, or if the president declares Georgia's sitting United States senators illegitimate, he is declaring Georgia voters illegitimate. It's Donald Trump who tried to defraud Georgia voters in that election."
Ossoffis up for re-election in November and his seat is being targeted by Republicans as a possible pickup opportunity.He predicted that Trump would use his speech to rehash challenges to the 2020 election that failed in court.
"Here's what's going to happen tonight: the world's most famous sore loser will deliver a prime-time presidential sour grapes address to pursue his six-year-old grievances about the 2020 election, while his war in the Middle East spirals out of control and the cost of living continues to rise for Americans across the country,"Ossoffsaid.
In a White House briefing Thursday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt was tight-lipped about what the president would say besides that he will discuss "protecting the integrity of our elections."
When pressed by a reporter about concerns from some Republicans that the president was litigating past elections that could turn off some swing voters, Leavitt said that Trump would focus on secure elections as key to American democracy.
"I've seen a lot of reporting and, frankly, misreporting about what the president will say. I think the American people will be relieved to hear what they are hearing from the president of the United States and his commitment to transparency and the focus on the integrity of our elections tonight," she said.
When later pressed by ABC News' Rachel Scott about the political concerns of some Republicans, Leavitt said only that people should wait until they've heard the speech.
Outgoing Republican Sens. ThomTillisand John Cornyn and Rep. Thomas Massie said Trump looking back on the 2020 elections is not a productive message for the party as it heads into the upcoming midterm cycle.
Asked if he thought Trump focusing on the 2020 election going into the midterms was a good messages for Republicans, Tillis said, "No, not at all. Look, we can't re-prosecute that campaign. Anytime you're looking back, you're not looking ahead and I'm looking ahead to these elections, and the president should as well."
Massie said that the White House was "trying to convince the American people the problem is the elections" rather than other issues they are concerned about
"The problem is not that we didn't win the elections. The problem is that we broke our promises when we got here ... So, it's a ruse because they're trying to convince the American people the problem is the elections. The problem is the people that they've elected."
Cornyn said that he wasn't pleased withJay Clayton's answerson the 2020 election during his Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing to be Trump's director of national intelligence on Tuesday when he refused to answer who won.
"I thought a lot of it was pretty silly," Cornyn said of Clayton's performance."I don't know why we're still talking about the 2020 election on either side of the aisle. We got important work to do and I think the most important is coming up here in the midterms. "In the meantime, to continue to do the people's work, and when we're talking about what happened six years ago, I don't think we're doing them any favors."
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said Trump'sspeech could influence how he votes on Clayton.
"If Donald Trump does what I expect and makes outrageous claims and uses those claims as an attempt to interfere in the elections, boy oh boy, more than ever do you need somebody in that role that'll take truth to power," he said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumertold reporters that Trump is "scared to death that he will lose in 2026" and is trying to change the subject.
"The bottom line is,if Trump wants to win the American people over, instead of the bulls--- that he's peddling about 2020, he ought to focus on lowering people's costs, getting rid of the chaos in administration, getting rid of the corruption," Schumer said.
