--- description: The President said he will speak about "free and fair elections," and "a couple other things." Here’s what to know: title: Trump to Give Primetime Speech on Thursday: What to Expect image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9ee9c369acb53f7/6a55fc9b104659755588cd4d/donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Donald Trump](/tag/donald-trump/) ## Donald Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Trump to Give Primetime Speech on Thursday: What to Expect by [Chad de Guzman](/author/chad-de-guzman/) and [Connor Greene](/author/connor-greene/) Updated: Jul 14, 2026 6:16 PM CUTPublished: Jul 14, 2026 9:31 AM CUT  U.S. President Donald Trump holds a press conference at Beştepe Presidential Compound during the NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, on July 8, 2026. U.S. President Donald Trump holds a press conference at Beştepe Presidential Compound during the NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, on July 8, 2026.Chris McGrath—Getty Images by [Chad de Guzman](/author/chad-de-guzman/) and [Connor Greene](/author/connor-greene/) Updated: Jul 14, 2026 6:16 PM CUTPublished: Jul 14, 2026 9:31 AM CUT President Donald Trump [announced](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116914147668764804 "undefined") Monday that he will deliver a “Speech to the Nation” on Thursday evening, though details of exactly what he’ll discuss remain unclear. Trump shared on Tuesday that he would speak about “free and fair elections” and have a “very big announcement,” as well as discussing “a couple other things,” but he declined to provide more information. Multiple reports have also hinted at the issues the President may touch on in the speech, scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. Such addresses are relatively uncommon and are usually reserved for big, nation-defining moments, though Trump has held several since returning to the White House last year. Last December, Trump [delivered a year-end address](https://time.com/7341493/trump-speech-reaction-takeaways/ "undefined") that recapped his second-term Administration’s achievements to that point. Then in April, the President gave [another primetime speech](https://time.com/article/2026/04/02/unbothered-by-reality-trump-gives-disjointed-update-on-iran-war/ "undefined"), this time focused on developments in [the U.S.’s war with Iran](https://time.com/article/2026/06/21/the-toll-of-the-u-s--iran-war-by-the-numbers/ "undefined"). TIME has reached out to the White House for comment on what the latest speech will cover. Here's what we know so far. ## Focusing on elections Trump indicated while speaking to reporters during a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in the Oval Office on Tuesday that elections will be the primary focus of his address. When asked on Tuesday for a preview of the speech and whether it would concern elections, as had earlier been reported, Trump confirmed that “It will concern that subject, and we’ll have a couple of other things to say, also,” adding that “it’s really big news.” "Our country has to shape up. But that's what we're going to be talking about Thursday. It doesn't get bigger, because without free and fair elections, you don't have a country," the President said. "We'll be discussing other things too, but it's going to be a very big announcement." [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-give-speech-about-foreign-interference-2020-election-ms-now-reports-2026-07-13/ "undefined") previously reported, citing an unnamed Administration official, that Trump will speak about newly declassified intelligence on investigations into U.S. elections and what the White House claims are risks related to voting machines. [MS NOW](https://x.com/jake%5F%5Ftraylor/status/2076754296352145803 "undefined") first reported on the speech’s planned content, citing two anonymized White House officials. Trump, who lost to Joe Biden in 2020, has repeatedly claimed without evidence that that year’s election and other elections in the country have been rigged. The President has continued to promote conspiracy theories even as his own Justice Department, lawsuits, and independent studies have failed to find evidence of significant anomalies. As part of his campaign against alleged voter fraud, Trump has pushed Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would mainly require voters to provide proof of citizenship and photo identification to cast ballots in federal elections. ## Discussing the war with Iran Trump’s announcement of a speech comes hours after he [declared that he would reinstate a U.S. naval blockade on Iran](https://time.com/article/2026/07/13/us-iran-conflict-oil-prices-strait-of-hormuz-trump-control/ "undefined"), and that Washington will impose a 20% fee on cargo transiting the [Strait of Hormuz](https://time.com/article/2026/03/17/what-is-the-strait-of-hormuz-global-trade-oil-flow-iran-war/ "undefined"). The [blockade was first introduced in April](https://time.com/article/2026/04/12/trump-blockade-strait-of-hormuz-iran/ "undefined") and removed after Washington and Tehran [reached an interim agreement in June](https://time.com/article/2026/06/17/us-iran-peace-deal-agreement-leaked-draft-text/ "undefined"). Both nations have resumed trading fire, and the U.S. President said [an April cease-fire has ended](https://time.com/article/2026/07/08/us-iran-ceasefire-over-trump-strikes-strait-of-hormuz/ "undefined") as the hostilities have eroded an interim agreement toward peace. Trump has struggled to find an off-ramp for the war, which has been steadily [unpopular among Americans](https://time.com/article/2026/06/25/us-iran-deal-mou-trump-approval-war-polls/ "undefined"). Last week, he [formally notified lawmakers](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/13/trump-notifies-congress-of-new-war-against-iran-00995170 "undefined") that the U.S. is resuming war with Iran. [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/07/14/trump-speech-iran-election "undefined") reported that an unnamed senior adviser expects Trump’s Thursday primetime speech to be a “potpourri” about topics he deems important but that the Iran war will be one of the discussion points. “It’s changing by the minute, but it’s something he wants to address,” the adviser told the outlet. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/07/14/trump-to-give-primetime-speech-on-thursday-what-to-expect/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/07/14/trump-to-give-primetime-speech-on-thursday-what-to-expect/"},"headline":"Trump to Give Primetime Speech on Thursday: What to Expect","datePublished":"2026-07-14T09:31:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-14T18:16:17.000Z","description":"The President said he will speak about \"free and fair elections,\" and \"a couple other things.\" Here’s what to know:","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/07/14/trump-to-give-primetime-speech-on-thursday-what-to-expect/","keywords":["Donald Trump","Trump Administration","News Desk","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9ee9c369acb53f7/6a55fc9b104659755588cd4d/donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chad de Guzman","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Connor Greene","jobTitle":"Editorial Fellow","url":"https://time.com/author/connor-greene/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9ee9c369acb53f7/6a55fc9b104659755588cd4d/donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"donald-trump.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Chris McGrath—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/07/14/trump-to-give-primetime-speech-on-thursday-what-to-expect/","name":"Trump to Give Primetime Speech on Thursday: What to Expect"}}]}] ```