White House Press Conference

WASHINGTON—Caroline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, returned from maternity leave and held her first press conference on Thursday. She announced that President Donald Trump’s upcoming address to the nation at 9 p.m. ET would concentrate on safeguarding the integrity of U.S. elections.

Ahead of the event, reports hinted that Trump would delve into the information revealed regarding the 2020 election. According to a CBS News report citing anonymous sources, he is expected to discuss “previously unreported allegations of Chinese interference in the US election.”

Leavitt initiated the briefing by stating that the president’s speech would focus on “defending election integrity,” urging all Americans to watch the speech later that evening.

She noted having encountered “misinformation” concerning the speech’s content.

When NBC News correspondent Garrett Haak questioned why Trump couldn’t just move on from the 2020 election claims, Leavitt suggested he was jumping to conclusions about the speech even before Trump had spoken.

First of all, Garrett, part of the issue is that the media often overlooks that many Americans share the president’s concerns regarding election sanctity. Your question suggests a conclusion before you’ve even heard the speech.

Leavitt urged journalists to approach the speech with “honesty and integrity,” suggesting that those who listen genuinely would be surprised by what they hear.

According to her, Trump’s remarks would be backed by “facts and evidence” that would be presented that evening. She remarked, “All Americans, whether Democrats or Republicans, should agree that we’re the greatest country and should have the safest elections. However, what the president will present tonight might reveal otherwise.”

In a conversation with CNN’s Caitlan Collins, Leavitt indicated that Trump might declassify certain documents relevant to the speech.

Collins questioned, “Given that the president has been in office over 540 days, if his claims are substantiated, why haven’t there been any indictments?”

Leavitt responded, “He hasn’t declassified that information yet. We’ll see what he says tonight and act accordingly.”