Fetterman calls out Trump over 2020 election claims: ‘You’re the president’
Following President Donald Trump’s remarks in his first address to the nation accusing China of election interference, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, scolded the president for focusing on false claims about election fraud.
Fetterman said while rebuking Trump’s allegations of corruption in the recent election:
Pennsylvania Senator Fetterman calls out Trump for alleged corruption in the last 202 elections
Fetterman chided Trump for his insistence that extensive voter fraud negatively impacted the 2020 presidential election.
“I don’t know why the president is bringing up all this stuff,” Fetterman said. CNN’s July 19 “State of the Union.” “You’re the president. Do something positive and you’re talking about 2020.”
Fetterman’s criticism came after Trump initially pushed back against criticism of China, claiming China interfered in the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential election, but later saying he believed China had changed.
Fetterman criticizes Trump for corruption allegations in 2020 election, says it’s a ‘distraction’
Fetterman also noted the president’s obsession with 2020 election fraud during an appearance on “State of the Union.”
“This was resolved six years ago,” Fetterman said. “This is extremely unhelpful, and it’s a distraction from important things, especially the Iran war.”
During the debate, Fetterman emphasized that he was a former governor-elect of Pennsylvania in 2020, where Fetterman served as lieutenant governor. Joe Biden and that the election was “absolutely safe, fair and accurate.”
“This was the voice of Pennsylvania, and they elected Joe Biden in 2020,” Fetterman said. “That’s a fact.”
Fetterman also said that if he saw evidence that more than 250,000 immigrants were registered to vote, “that would make me rethink some things.”
“But there is no evidence, and I don’t expect we will see any of this,” Fetterman said. “I would also remind people that the vast, vast majority of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania are deep red counties and they have never encountered any fraud whatsoever.”
Trump has repeatedly claimed fraud in the 2020 election and recently blamed China
For nearly six years, Trump has repeatedly claimed election fraud occurred during the 2020 election, which Biden won, even though the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
In his first speech to the nation on July 16, Trump described the election system as “broken and too vulnerable for anyone to defend.” Citing declassified intelligence documents, he alleged that China tried to influence the results of the 2018 midterm elections and prevent him from being elected in 2020, while it also compromised the country’s voter data and stole 220 million voter files from states across the United States. It was carried out by Beijing to support Biden in the “largest compromise of election data in history.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 16: U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026 in Washington, DC.
“The cover-up of this massive security breach is even more troubling in light of additional information indicating that China engaged in other election-related activities to undermine my first administration and our 2020 campaign,” Trump said. “They didn’t want it, they just didn’t want it, (and) they fought like hell not to have it, Donald Trump To win and for good reason.”
But a few days later, Trump downplayed China’s alleged actions and said he believed the country had changed since Biden’s election and that the US was also targeting China, but did not specify which US actions he meant.
“I think China is a little different today than it was then,” Trump said. “But look, they’re doing things. We’re doing things to them. I’ll be honest. We’re doing things to them, too. It’s not a one-way street. But we’re going to talk to them.”
Joey Garrison, Phillip M. Bailey, James Powel, Fernando Cervantes Jr., Josh Meyer, Terry Collins and Sarah D. Wire contributed to this report.
Finch Walker is the USA TODAY Network’s Pittsburgh Connect Reporter. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. On Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.
This article first appeared on USA TODAY: Fetterman addressed Trump over 2020 election allegations: ‘You are the president’
