CT Mirror43%
Himes calls Trump’s election speech ‘easily disprovable lies’ 72%
By Lisa Hagen0%
7/17/2026, 8:02:03 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 28 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Emotion, Appeal to Authority, and Burden of Proof, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 30% saturation with 279 hits. Analysis detected 2,183 faulty-reasoning hits from 930 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 65.1% and a BS Rank of 72% (4,870 of 17,194 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 71.70% of the article peer group.
Rep.
Jim Himes, D-Conn., speaks to reporters following votes at the Capitol, Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Washington.
U.S.
Rep.
Jim Himes, D-4th District, called President Donald Trump’s primetime address to the nation about the state of the country’s election infrastructure and security “bald-faced” and “easily disprovable lies.”
Citing the information he’s privy to and his work as the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Himes argued that Trump’s speech served to sow doubt about the upcoming midterm elections and perpetuate unproven claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election.
In remarks from the White House Thursday night, Trump made claims about election vulnerabilities and the influence of foreign actors like China in 2020 while reiterating concerns around mail-in voting and electronic voting machines.
“Our elections were left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen,” Trump said Thursday.
But Trump didn’t provide evidence of interference or election tampering.
“I try to be nuanced and subtle, but there’s no other word than to say that the president lied to the American public — bald-faced, 180-degrees wrong, easily disprovable lies,” Himes said on a Friday call with reporters.
“He started by saying our elections were corrupt.
They are not.
Our elections are safe and secure.
This has been litigated, especially the 2020 election,” Himes continued, noting that the president has a problem only with the presidential election he lost.
As a member of the “Gang of Eight,” a group of the Republican and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate plus the chairs and ranking members of both intelligence committees, Himes said he’s seen “zero evidence” that a foreign country interfered in U.S. elections.
When speaking with reporters on Friday, the southwestern Connecticut congressman sought to make a distinction between election interference and influence, including from foreign countries.
“Interference is when you go into the machines or alter the totals or somehow get into the voting rolls — anything that would actually change the mechanics or the process or the result of a vote is interference,” Himes said.
“Lots of countries either think about or do try to influence our elections, largely through misinformation, disinformation,” he said later, pointing to efforts such as buying Facebook ads, as Russia did during the 2016 presidential election.
Himes provided a copy of a declassified version of an Intelligence Community Assessment report from March 2021 about foreign threats to the 2020 elections .
He said it shows that multiple countries tried to exert influence in past U.S. elections, such as Russia and Iran.
Trump focused a lot of his speech on China, but the 2021 report concluded that “we did not identify China attempting to interfere with election infrastructure or provide funding to any candidates or parties.”
Himes argued that Trump’s comments that foreigners or noncitizens are voting in American elections is “an easily disprovable point” but rhetoric Himes expects the president to use to “suggest that the upcoming elections are fraudulent.”
Noncitizen voting is already prohibited by federal law and rare .
The Trump administration on Thursday claimed it found thousands of noncitizens on the voter rolls in four states — California, New Jersey, Nevada and Pennsylvania — but didn’t provide evidence.
In recent weeks, the administration has applied further pressure on states to change their voting practices.
Connecticut’s secretary of the state’s office recently confirmed it received a letter from the Justice Department ordering state elections officials to “undertake certain actions” — such as ensuring only citizens are voting — or face “potential criminal penalties for those who fail to carry out their duties.”
Connecticut doesn’t allow noncitizens to vote in federal or state elections.
Himes believes Trump’s election rhetoric is ultimately a preemptive effort to create chaos around the November elections, where the majorities in Congress are up for grabs and the balance of power could shift.
Republicans currently control both the House and Senate.
“It is very likely that his party is going to lose the majority in the House of Representatives, and it’s probably a 50-50 proposition about where the Senate goes,” Himes said.
“So last night was about setting the predicate, building the foundation for him on Election Night to say … ‘back in July I told you so.'”
Himes said he doesn’t expect Connecticut to face the brunt of it, since the state’s five House seats are unlikely to flip.
He expects Trump will pay more attention to states such as Michigan, Georgia or North Carolina, where red seats are at risk of turning blue.
In his speech, Trump once again took aim at mail-in voting, calling it “inherently corrupt.”
He has long cast doubt on the security and integrity of voting by mail, despite debunked allegations of widespread fraud and casting a mail-in ballot himself as recently as March.
“There is zero proof that using mail-in ballots has led to a corruption of an election,” Himes said.
“It’s really important for Americans to understand that however they want to vote, in person or by mail, it’s going to be secure.”
Trump has been urging Congress to pass the SAVE America Act , which would require voters to provide “documentary proof” of citizenship when they register to vote or change their registration and require an approved form of photo ID when voting in person or by mail.
But it doesn’t have the votes for passage in the Senate .
Because of the frenzy around voting and election security, Himes made a suggestion to voters in Connecticut, which has in-person early voting and now has no-excuse absentee voting : “Vote as early as possible.”
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.