NPR News: 07-17-2026 12AM EDT

President Trump used a prime-time speech to challenge the integrity of U.S. elections, accusing China of interfering in the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden—a claim that contradicts U.S. intelligence findings. Meanwhile, new reporting shows Trump’s businesses generated more than $2 billion last year, an unprecedented windfall for a sitting president, though some swing voters in Pennsylvania dismissed it as unimportant. Elsewhere, the partner of a Colombian man killed by an ICE officer in Maine spoke publicly for the first time, the UN reported that more than 500 Rohingya refugees are feared dead after two boats capsized, and U.S. safety investigators took over the probe into a Ryanair flight where a window dislodged mid-air.

Election Integrity Claims and Media Criticism

In his address, President Trump argued that every American deserves a system where cheating and foreign interference are “virtually impossible.” He specifically accused China of interfering in the 2020 election—a position that puts him at odds with U.S. intelligence agencies, which have found no evidence supporting that claim. Trump also attacked major television networks, saying that those which did not broadcast his speech live should have their licenses revoked. ABC, NBC, and CNN carried the speech on their streaming services; CBS and MSNBC cut away before he finished; Fox News aired it in full.