Trump set for prime-time address as election claims and ICE policy changes take center stage

President Donald Trump is set to deliver a rare prime-time address to the nation Thursday night, with the speech expected to focus in part on election integrity and his administration’s findings regarding the 2020 election.

A source familiar with the address says Trump plans to revisit claims about the election he lost to Joe Biden. Courts, election experts, and members of Trump’s first administration have repeatedly said there was no widespread voter fraud that would have changed the outcome of the election.

During a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton, faced questions about the 2020 election and whether he acknowledged Biden’s victory.

When asked by senators Mark Warner and Jon Ossoff who won the election, Clayton said Biden was certified as president but declined to directly address whether he believed Biden won.

The president is also reversing course on a planned temporary suspension of some vehicle stops by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents following two fatal ICE-related shootings in Texas and Maine.

Trump said on social media that vehicle stops remain an important tool for immigration enforcement.

A senior Department of Homeland Security official told NBC News that ICE leaders were surprised by the president’s decision. Border czar Tom Homan said the proposal was intended as a short-term measure to ensure agents involved in operations had proper vehicle stop training.

Officials said neither of the men killed in the incidents were ICE’s intended targets and that the officers involved were not wearing body cameras.

Maine Governor Janet Mills called for more action from Congress following the shootings, saying lawmakers should take stronger steps to protect lives across the country.

Trump’s address comes as his administration faces ongoing scrutiny over election issues and immigration enforcement policies.