Trump Praises 'Strongest, Most Powerful Military' Amid 2026 Election Warning

The president made the comments during a speech on Thursday evening about election interference, pushing the SAVE Act.

President Donald Trump praised the U.S. military in a blistery speech on Thursday evening, calling it "the strongest and most powerful" in a presidential address centered on election security.

While Trump mainly delivered the speech to address unfounded concerns about the nation's election security and to again push for stricter election reforms via the SAVE Act legislation, the president also paid tribute to U.S. forces—specifically referencing U.S. military operations in Venezuela and Iran.

"We have the strongest and most powerful military by far anywhere in the world," Trump said. "I built it during my first term, and unfortunately, we're forced to use it now."

Trump first referenced the U.S.'s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in January.

After the successful capture, the U.S. backed Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, as the acting president. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are being held in New York, awaiting trial on federal narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking charges.

"We won in Venezuela, which is now working with us to produce millions and millions of barrels of oil," Trump said.

He then addressed Iran and the long, ongoing conflict that seemingly has no end following multiple ceasefires and disurpted negotiations dating back to the initial Feb. 28 strikes.

"We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly," Trump said. "America is back and doing really well."

The conflict, which included Israel joining the U.S. in those air strikes against Iran, has intensified in recent days and an interim deal agreed last month to end the fighting has already collapsed.

The U.S. has launched days of airstrikes on Iran in response to its attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage for international trade. Iran has fired back at Arab countries hosting American troops.

As of 6 a.m. Friday, the U.S. strikes had killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 400 in Iran, the nation's health ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour told the Associated Press.

Trump's Claims Against China

The main message relayed by Trump surrounded U.S. elections, less than four months before the midterms.

The president claimed, without evidence, that China had illicitly acquired U.S. voter files during the 2020 election. He cited declassified intelligence files and also said China bought data in 18 states. China denied the claims while U.S. intelligence previously concluded that China had not interfered in the election.

It was the latest iteration of Trump's insistence that his 2020 election loss to former President Joe Biden was rigged, while he's made no threats of illegitimate vote tallies or tampering in his own 2016 or 2024 victories.

He also said that U.S. voting machines are "extremely exposed" to foreign states like Russia, China and Iran.

At the end of his speech, Trump called for the SAVE America Act to be passed. This legislation would ban most mail voting and would require proof of citizenship for voter registration in addition to a photo ID to cast a ballot.

That bill has been attempted by Republicans in their House and Senate majorities to be included with more sweeping legislation, such as the national defense budget that must be approved ahead of the next fiscal year.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on social media following Trump's speech that his caucus intends to remain steadfast against the SAVE Act.

"Let's be clear—in America, voters choose their leaders, not the other way around," Schumer said.

"Democrats will fight like hell to make sure every American voter can cast their ballot freely, without obstruction or interference from Donald Trump," he added.