The prospect of an unpredictable Donald Trump making a live, primetime address to the nation on Thursday night has many Republicans rattled.
The 80-year-old president has hyped the speech as the announcement of “really big news,” although it is expected to be little more than Trump rehashing years-old false claims about the 2020 election.
One former Trump administration official told Politico that Republicans are not only concerned about the president moaning about Joe Biden’s election victory six years ago while the country is at war and millions of Americans are struggling with a cost-of-living crisis, but also about him deciding to improvise.
“The people I talk to are scared s—less,” the official said. “It’s not scared s—less about the text of what he’s going to say, it’s, what does he add to the text?”
Trump’s inner circle has been desperate for the president to focus on what they see as his achievements in improving the economy, such as declining inflation.
Trump has endured dire approval ratings on the economy during his second term, with policies such as sweeping tariffs and the Iran conflict exacerbating the financial hardships already facing many Americans.
While the White House hasn’t previewed Trump’s speech, it will reportedly focus on voting machine security and alleged election interference by foreign countries.
Steve Cortes, a former Trump adviser, said that while the president’s base still believes there was a “grave injustice” in the 2020 election, Trump would be wiser to discuss other issues ahead of the crucial midterm elections.
“I believe for the persuadable voters, the non-MAGA people, talking about an election from six years ago sounds like sour grapes,” Cortes told Politico.
There is also the issue of how many people will even pay attention to Trump’s rant. Major broadcast networks, including CNN, Fox News, and ABC News, have not cleared their schedules to air it, and it is unclear whether the White House even asked the networks to preempt their programming to broadcast it live.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to suggest that the lack of official information surrounding Trump’s address is precisely why people should watch it.
“As usual, anonymous sources are speculating about what President Trump will say during his speech on Thursday evening. The truth is, nobody knows yet what President Trump will ultimately say, which is why everyone should tune in,” Leavitt said.
Trump teased the speech while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, confirming it would touch on subjects such as “election machines and integrity.”
“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,” Trump said.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
