When President Trump delivered his primetime address on election security and integrity on July 16, 2026, More in Common turned to our Americans in Conversation (AIC) panel, an ongoing online community of Americans from diverse political and demographic backgrounds, to understand how the President’s own voters felt about the speech and how they were feeling about the security of the American electoral system.
From July 17-20, 2026, immediately following the primetime address, 93 Trump voters watched clips of the speech and shared their thoughts in their own words. Clips included those where he is talking about non-citizens voting, networks declining to cover the speech, allegations of Chinese interference in our elections, and the need for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act. In addition to demographic information, each respondent below is labeled as a MAGA Hardliner, Anti-Woke Conservative, Mainline Republican, or Reluctant Right—the four types of voters we identified in Beyond MAGA, our study of President Trump’s coalition.
This is what we found:
1. Trump voters on our panel broadly agreed with Trump’s statements in the selected clips, driven by their already-established distrust in our election system.
When asked to what extent panelists were supportive or not supportive of key elements of President Trump's address, a majority of Trump voters on our panel broadly supported the President, with many citing concerns around election security.
“I support everything that he said. I have always known that the 2020 election was not right. It has also been obvious that our election system is NOT secure, there is widespread cheating (and attempted cheating), and that countries like China are trying to interfere in our elections.”
— Amanda, a 49-year-old white woman, Anti-Woke Conservative from Lisle, Illinois
“I support everything he talked about that I understood. We need to keep elections secure. Every other country does and we should too.”
— Janet, a 61-year-old white woman, Reluctant Right from Huntington Beach, California
“I support all of [his messages]. I believe there has been enough fraud to sway elections.”
— Dennis, a 69-year-old white man, Anti-Woke Conservative from Waco, Texas
“I support all of it. I want the maximum safety we can have in our elections.”
— Javier, a 39-year-old Hispanic man, MAGA Hardliner from Kissimmee, Florida
2. Trump’s call for voter ID checks and the SAVE America Act stood out as a particularly popular idea among our panelists in his coalition.
Given the general skepticism around the US electoral system, it is no surprise that a call to pass the SAVE Act and voter ID laws resonated with Trump voters.
“We know other countries interfere in elections. It's not anything new. My biggest part I support is voter ID to vote. We need to have honest elections. [...] there should be no issues making [a] voter ID law.”
— Aaron, a 54-year-old white man, MAGA Hardliner from Midvale, Utah
“I completely agree with that. You have to show ID for everything else in the U.S. so why shouldn't you have to show ID to vote.”
— David, 72, white man, Mainline Republican, North Tonawanda, New York
“I agree with most of this [speech]. Only Americans should vote in American elections. People should show a photo ID to vote.”
— Sully, a 58-year-old white man, Anti-Woke Conservative, from Saint Louis, Missouri
3. Trump’s voters were less likely to believe his claims about China.
The most direct criticism to Trump’s speech centered on the idea that China was undermining confidence in the election.
“I’m not as interested in hearing about [China]. It reminds me of Hilary Clinton talking about Russia.”
— Stephanie, a 43-year-old white woman, Anti-Woke Conservative from Lamoine, Maine
“I would have liked to have seen a little more evidence regarding China.”
— Emily, a 31-year-old white woman, Anti-Woke Conservative from Reno, Nevada
“We need facts not just word of mouth to back up claims dealing with the President and China.”
— Cynthia, 68, white woman, Reluctant Right, Huntersville, North Carolina
“I support that we need to show an ID when you go vote. Everyone has some kind of identification. I don’t know enough information to agree if China was involved during past elections.”
— Etta, a 68-year-old white woman, Reluctant Right from Huntersville, North Carolina
A minority of Trump voters expressed support of the President’s comments on China.
“The Chinese have been stealing our elections, and it needs to stop.”
— Cheryl, a 63-year-old white woman, MAGA Hardliner from Mount Upton, New York
“I think what Trump is saying makes sense, and I believe that China has done that, and a lot more to try to undermine the US and promote their own agendas.”
— Dylan, a 34-year-old white man, Mainline Republican from Sandusky, Ohio
“I love that the president is not at all afraid of China and is willing to take the fight to them.”
— Wayne, a 59-year-old white man, Mainline Republican from Manchester, Connecticut
4. On the topic of revoking media licenses, Trump voters’ support is mixed.
During his speech, Trump said that networks that did not air his speech should have their licenses revoked. Across the coalition, Trump voters shared mixed opinions about whether this was justified.
“I don't support revoking licenses for news media having even a hard bias. It seems authoritarian and all media carries some sort of bias.”
— Austin, a 20-year-old white man, Reluctant Right from Peshtigo, Wisconsin
“I agree that media should not manipulate and should air all news including this speech of Trump, and have people decide on their own if they like it or not.”
— Valeria, a 32-year-old Hispanic woman, Reluctant Right from Perth Amboy, New Jersey
“These networks are licensed to use public airwaves to operate in the public good. They need to have their licenses revoked.”
— Dennis, a 69-year-old white man, Anti-Woke Conservative from Waco, Texas
“I don’t think they should lose their licenses for refusing to carry the President’s speech.”
— Javier, a 50-year-old Hispanic man, Anti-Woke Conservative from El Paso, Texas
5. The few panelists that fully opposed President Trump’s speech were all from the Reluctant Right.
Only a small handful of the 93 panelists opposed the speech outright, and that criticism came entirely from those who are a part of the Reluctant Right, suggesting that genuine opposition was mostly confined to the voters who are already least loyal to Trump.
“I directly oppose his lying about what the 'Save Act' truly does.”
— Justin, 43, white man, Reluctant Right, Selah, Washington
“I saw this speech live and it lacks coherency, he is a mumbler, he does not tell the truth, and he thinks the world revolves around him.”
— Deborah, 59, white woman, Reluctant Right, Lanett, Alabama
“They are hogwash. They are ramblings of a petty, bitter old man. This has nothing to do with him destroying our democracy.”
—Steve, a 61-year-old white man, Reluctant Right from Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania
“It shows how president is blaming everyone else rather than correcting system.”
—Kenji, a 53-year-old Asian man, Reluctant Right from Shakopee, Minnesota
Conclusion
While only a third of Trump voters said the 2020 election was stolen in our January 2026 survey, concern about the security of American elections extends much further across his coalition. As our panelists’ responses show, skepticism toward claims of foreign interference does not preclude support for measures, such as voter ID requirements, that voters believe would make elections more secure.
As the November midterms approach, President Trump’s allegations may continue to dominate the debate over election integrity. Whether or not networks continue to air these claims from the President is a separate question from whether Trump voters' underlying concerns about election integrity are addressed. Scrutinizing and rebutting unsupported claims is necessary, but it will not, on its own, restore Americans’ trust in the electoral system. Efforts to rebuild that trust must also acknowledge and respond to the deeper concerns that give those claims resonance.
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