Trump’s “Doom” Election-Security Claim Fuels Push for SAVE America Act

During a primetime address on Thursday, former President Donald Trump presented a White House-released document dump that he said proved long-standing vulnerabilities in U.S. election infrastructure. Central to his argument was a declassified National Intelligence Council memorandum that featured a photo of a poll-book modified at the 2019 Def Con hacking village to run the 1993 video game Doom. Trump used the example to argue for the SAVE America Act, legislation he described as necessary to prevent “stolen elections.”

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The memorandum, dated January 2020, reflected a “minority” view within the intelligence community that China was “engaged in election influence.” It cited the Def Con demonstration, which the Washington Post reported was based on a tweet by user “l33tLumberjack.” The National Association of Secretaries of State previously called that demonstration “unrealistic,” noting many voting devices are offline and that paper records exist in many states.

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Trump asserted that “for many years, Americans were blatantly lied to about the security of our election infrastructure… they’re vulnerable and they’re easily compromised.” He claimed the released files proved the government had known machines were “extremely exposed to attack.” He also announced that the Department of Homeland Security had been directed to remove non-citizens from voter rolls and urged Congress to pass the SAVE America Act. Election officials at federal, state and local levels, including members of Trump’s own former administration, have repeatedly rejected claims of widespread 2020 fraud.

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Experts and election officials described Trump’s evidence as “wild” and “baseless,” emphasizing that the Doom demonstration does not reflect real-world voting conditions. The National Association of Secretaries of State highlighted the lack of internet connectivity in many poll-books, and analysts noted that the intelligence memo represented a minority opinion rather than consensus. Critics argue the push for the SAVE America Act would impose “draconian voter-suppression measures” favoring Republican candidates.

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• “For many years, Americans were blatantly lied to about the security of our election infrastructure, including electronic voting machines and ballot counting systems — dishonest almost all. They’re vulnerable and they’re easily compromised and people within our government do that,” — Donald Trump

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• “Tonight we’re publishing a series of previously classified U.S. intelligence community assessments and other reports proving that our government has long known these machines are extremely exposed to attack.” — Donald Trump

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• “Doom on a electronic pollbook? Yes please!” — l33tLumberjack (Twitter user)

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• “We can never be hacked and we can never watch a stolen election again,” — Donald Trump

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• “Together we will restore faith and confidence in our country and we will be bigger, better and stronger than ever before.” — Donald Trump

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