In a Thursday night address to the nation, President Trump used charged language to discuss the integrity of U.S. elections. Terms like “Deep state,” “Rigged and stolen,” and “Fraud” filled his speech as he sought to question the legitimacy of past and future election outcomes.

While speaking from the White House East Room, President Trump emphasized a core message: Regardless of the 2020 election results, he does not see himself as a loser. He suggested that dark forces were working against him, hinting that any midterm election losses his party suffers could also be suspect.

The speech from the White House was striking in that it focused on painting U.S. elections as untrustworthy, especially those in which he or his allies do not succeed. Although he claimed to be revealing vulnerabilities within the election system using selectively declassified documents, he offered no evidence of actual outcomes being altered.

Since returning to office 18 months ago, Trump has concentrated intensely on challenging the 2020 election results and casting doubt on the 2026 election. His administration has installed election deniers in significant roles, made voting more difficult, seized voting records to support his theories, and dismissed officials who examined his attempts to overturn the previous election defeat.

“It does feel a little like Captain Ahab in ‘Moby Dick,’” stated Trevor Potter, a Republican and former Federal Election Commission chairman. “Trump remains fixated on the idea that he did not lose the 2020 election, and this belief has become deeply ingrained in his mindset and administration.”

For those around him, Trump’s focus on rewriting 2020 history appears to soothe his ego. He struggles to admit loss and requires those associated with him to adhere to, or at least not dispute, the assertion that he won against Joseph R. Biden Jr.