Skip to content 7/17/2026 The Root and a Solution to American Election Interference and the Christian’s Role in Politics Jul 17 · 59 min ...more
7/17/2026 The Root and a Solution to American Election Interference and the Christian’s Role in Politics
July 17, 2026 · 59 min
Today, we analyze President Trump’s speech and DHS Secretary Mullin’s press conference about election interference by the Chinese Communist Party, efforts to secure U.S. elections through the SAVE America Act, the U.S. Strikes on Iran’s infrastructure, declining public trust in U.S. institutions, and research on how Americans engage in religion and politics.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video July 17, 2026 · 59 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Video
Today, we analyze President Trump’s speech and DHS Secretary Mullin’s press conference about election interference by the Chinese Communist Party, efforts to secure U.S. elections through the SAVE America Act, the U.S. Strikes on Iran’s infrastructure, declining public trust in U.S. institutions, and research on how Americans engage in religion and politics. ...more Show the full description Show less Today, we analyze President Trump’s speech and DHS Secretary Mullin’s press conference about election interference by the Chinese Communist Party, efforts to secure U.S. elections through the SAVE America Act, the U.S. Strikes on Iran’s infrastructure, declining public trust in U.S. institutions, and research on how Americans engage in religion and politics.
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In this video 0:00 News Brief: Voter Fraud Crackdown and Global Tensions7:33 Election Compromise Exposed: China and Voter Rolls22:06 Congressional Call for Election Integrity27:54 Deep State and Foreign Threats to Elections37:03 Christian Civic Engagement and Biblical Insights
News Brief: Voter Fraud Crackdown and Global Tensions 0:00 Hello. I'm Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and host of Washington Watch. Thanks for tuning in. Every day, we offer a biblical perspective on the news as well as insightful interviews with elected0:12 leaders, newsmakers, and culture experts. We have a great program planned for you today, but 1st, get up to speed on the top headlines with Washington Stan's news brief.0:27 Welcome to the Washington Stan news brief. I'm Quinn Dellamater bringing you today's big stories. Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullen on Friday announced a major crackdown on0:39 voter fraud in several states. Mullen called out California, New Jersey, Nevada and Pennsylvania. He said he has evidence of voter fraud in those states and that they are likely facing0:51 investigations. He also called out illegal immigrants saying they will be charged and prosecuted if they vote in federal elections.0:59 If you're illegal and attempted to vote or you tried to vote illegally for someone else, we will find you and we1:11 will charge you. Illegal voter restoration and illegal voting, both carry penalties up to 5 years in prison and up to 250000 dollars in fines.1:23 We will pursue maximum pressure on this.1:28 DHS has reportedly said it identified a quarter of 1000000 illegal immigrants of federal voter rolls. Mullins announcement comes after president Donald Trump addressed the nation
1:40 Thursday evening about election security. In his speech, president Trump touted declassified intelligence and said he showed Chinese interference in the in US elections, something
1:52 the president has been talking about since the results of the 20 20 election.
1:57 The 3rd set of documents we are releasing proves that for many years, Americans were blatantly lied to about the security of our election infrastructure, including
2:08 electronic voting machines and ballot counting systems, dishonest almost all. They're vulnerable and they're easily compromised, and people
2:20 within our government knew that. Tonight, we're publishing a series of previously classified US intelligence community assessments and other reports proving that our government has long
2:32 known these machines are extremely exposed to attack.
2:37 That speech comes 4 months before the critical midterm elections and as president Trump pushes to pass the Save America Act. The White House posted Friday morning that, quote,
2:49 US spy agencies began learning about the compromise of voter registration files in 20 20 when they discovered that tens of millions of voters' data in 18 states had been bought,
3:00 stolen, or hacked by China. Yet those responsible for sounding the alarm instead kept the information hidden. So far, China has denied these claims and analysts will be
3:12 poring over the new documents. Meanwhile, in the Middle East, fighting continues between the US and Iran. The US military hit bridges, rail lines, power and
3:24 water facilities, as well as other targets in Kuwait and additional areas in the Middle East on Friday. This comes as president Trump has said he is done negotiating and that the
3:36 US will take control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, of course, has set otherwise and returned fire on both US targets and other gulf states. This was the 6th consecutive night of
3:47 US strikes against Iran. And for our last story, across the country, skies are looking smokey today, especially here in Washington DC and the rest of the East Coast.
3:59 A blanket of smoke has covered much of the northern part of America, blowing down from the Canadian wildfires. Pollution levels are some of the worst ever seen, with air pollution rising
4:11 over 2 times above what is considered hazardous in some areas. Much of the country is under advisory to stay inside to avoid this unbreathable air. Smoke has also engulfed
4:23 much of the East Coast where the World Cup final is set to take place on Saturday in New York. There were concerns about the air quality affecting the players, but it is supposed to improve by tomorrow after
4:35 the rain. I'm Quindella Mater, and that's Friday's news. You can dive deeper at the Washington stand. We'll be back next time with more stories that matter.
4:53 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and sound bites into conversations with our nation's leaders and
5:05 newsmakers, all from a biblical world view. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heiss.
5:11 Tonight, I'm announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure. This
5:23 evidence shows that the election system we have dangerously exposes and really exposes, like, levels never thought possible.
5:35 That was president Trump last night delivering his prime time address to the nation. Welcome to this July 17th edition of Washington Watch. I'm your Friday host, Jody
5:47 Heise. Thank you so much for making us part of your day. Coming up on the program in the next hour, we'll discuss what the president shared last night with the American people, in particular,
5:59 how China may have acquired some 2 20000000 US voter files. West Virginia congressman Riley Moore will be joining me in just a few moments to give his reaction
6:11 to all of that. And then later, former FBI agent Jonathan Gilliam will also join us to go deeper into the president's claims that he shared last night. Then
6:23 later in the program, Gallup has released a new survey showing how Americans' confidence in major US institution remains near historic lows. And this includes a
6:34 number of institutions. So what did the survey reveal about America's confidence in the church? Well, we'll be discussing that a little bit later on in the program with FRC's doctor David
6:46 Clawson. That will come during our Biblical Worldview segment. So all that and much more is coming straight ahead on Washington Watch.
7:01 Let's begin with news coming from the White House. Last night, President Trump addressed the nation and announced the declassification of intelligence that he says showed the largest compromise
7:13 of election data in history. Well, joining us now to get us kicked off and discuss this is Washington Watch reporter Mary Stackhouse. Mary, this is, creating quite a buzz
7:24 throughout the news today. What did the president have to say last night?
7:29 Jody, president Trump said he was declassifying sensitive information that showed that China had illicitly acquired 220000000 US voter files. Now those files included names, addresses,
Election Compromise Exposed: China and Voter Rolls
7:41 and other data used to register to vote. He said that members of the US intel intelligence community deliberately suppressed that information about the extent of China's activities. President Trump said that this
7:53 vital information has been covered up and hidden from the American people. Here's president Trump on the compromise of election data.
8:00 Over a period of years starting during the 20 20 election cycle, the People's Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data
8:12 in history, resulting in China's illicit acquisition of 220000000 US voter files.
8:22 During the speech, the documents were posted on the White House website. President Trump did not claim that Beijing altered the results of the 20 20 presidential election. He instead said that China ran information
8:32 campaigns to try to shape public perceptions in the US. Jody.
8:38 Very, very interesting. We'll see what comes of all of this in the weeks ahead. But speaking of elections, I I know Department of Homeland Security secretary Mark Wayne Mullen also held a news
8:50 conference, today discussing what his department plans to be doing as it relates to election integrity efforts. What did he have to say?
8:59 Jody, secretary Mullen shared some shocking numbers of noncitizens who are registered to vote here in the US. He promised that his department would hunt down anyone voting illegally and prosecute them. Here's a clip
9:11 where he explains just how vast of an issue this is.
9:14 The part of Homeland Security, we've identified 250000 noncitizens registered to vote in just 4 states. Mind you,
9:26 we have 46 other states and just 4 states.
9:32 Secretary Mullins said that those states where they found massive numbers of noncitizens registered to vote include California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. He went on to say that his department has worked with
9:44 23 proactive states to identify 28000 noncitizens on their voter rolls. He also said that they found 400000 individuals registered to vote who are deceased. He promised
9:56 that any states who don't use DHS's updated tool for identifying noncitizen voters will become a priority for investigations. Jody.
10:06 Stunning stunning information. Thank you, Mary. Let me shift to the conflict in the Middle East. The US has certainly intensified the, attacks taking place there in Iran, now hitting some
10:18 civilian infrastructure. What's the latest in the developments there in Iran?
10:23 Jody, this really is a significant escalation. Footage released on social media shows what the US military says are its latest strikes against Iranian targets. This marks the 6th consecutive night of strikes by the
10:35 US against Iran. Iranian state media released footage that shows destroyed bridges in southern Iran. They report that at least 5 bridges have been struck in the south. Now Iran retaliated by
10:47 attacking its neighbors' civilian infrastructure and US military bases. Iran said that it had struck US bases in Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, as well as a USS radar station in
10:59 Oman. Explosions were heard in the Qatari capital Doha where the interior ministry said a child was wounded by shrapnel. Iran also said it fired at Syria apparently for the 1st time in the conflict
11:11 targeting what it described as a US special forces base in TANF, which Damascus and Washington say US force forces vacated earlier this year. Jody?
11:22 Alright, Mary. Thank you so much for these updates. We will most definitely be keeping an eye on all the latest developments as they unfold. I want to now turn our attention, to get
11:34 a congressional perspective on the president's prime time address last night. And joining me now to discuss this and more is congressman Riley Moore, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
11:46 He represents the 2nd congressional district of the great state of West Virginia. Congressman Moore, welcome back to Washington Watch. Great to have you with us.
11:55 Hey, Jody. Thanks so much for having me.
11:58 Alright. Let's, let me just get your take on the president's address last night. What do you make of it?
12:04 It was shocking. It was absolutely shocking. And if anything, this puts a finer point on the reason why we have to pass the Save America Act. That
12:16 bill must become law before these next elections. And I am hoping and praying the United States Senate, when we put this in the reconciliation bill, they
12:27 don't strip it out and they pass that reconciliation package, which the budget, committee just passed out the resolution with the instructions for that reconciliation package just last
12:39 night. And so next week, you're gonna see that budget resolution on the floor, but we have to pass the Save America Act. 1 of the most shocking numbers to me, though, and you just heard, the secretary of homeland
12:50 security talking about it. Only 4 states, over a quarter million foreign nationals registered to vote. By the way, no 1 should be surprised California is 1 of these states where
13:02 they have automatic voter registration when you go get a driver's license. You don't have to be a US citizen to get a driver's license in California, and there's many other blue states that are like this. I mean, enough
13:13 is enough. The gig is up. This facade that they have put up, there's no voter indiscretion. There's no illegals voting. That is ridiculous. The the evidence
13:25 is just overwhelming in this, and we've got to take back the integrity of our election system and preserve democracy in our great country.
13:34 Yeah. I mean, this is the the whole voice of the people is wrapped up in fair elections. And when this is compromised, it it is a national security issue. It's it just takes away the voice of the
13:46 people altogether. And I know I mentioned this a moment ago, but, DHS secretary Markwayne Mullen followed up today with a press conference and really outlined his department's efforts to,
13:58 enhance election security, emphasize that election security is, as I just said, a national security issue. So this is something that all people, both sides of the
14:10 aisle, ought to be concerned about, isn't it?
14:13 Well, you would like to think both sides of the aisle be concerned about it. But don't forget, the Democrats have been pushing in places like New York to allow non US citizens to vote. And this
14:25 in part, by the way, is just their long march on the left to erode what it actually means to be a US citizen. I mean, in practice, what is the difference at
14:37 this point in between someone who is a US citizen in this country and somebody is not? Is it that you can receive welfare benefits? Oh, both of those can do that. Now both of them can vote. Both of them get
14:49 driver's license. What we've got to reclaim the sovereignty of US citizenship in this country.
14:57 Absolutely. And, of course, with no surprise whatsoever, but China has rejected all president Trump's claims, saying that it's all just entirely fabricated.
15:10 But we do know that infiltration influence influence is something that the CCP is absolutely engaged in, don't we? That is not something that's really a
15:21 surprise.
15:22 No. They're absolutely engaged in it. And if any of your audience, and I doubt on this, network, they would be. If your kids are on TikTok, you're on TikTok, get off of there. The Chinese
15:34 government has the ability to monitor your entire activity, your personality, your profile, and they are probing and testing us. And 1 of the biggest problems with them acquiring
15:46 this voter data is now they know how people vote, how they're registered to vote, what their preferences are. Are they kinda lean Republican, hard Republican, lean Democrat? And so
15:58 now they have even more information to match up with those profiles that are online where they can start to manipulate manipulate individuals and their preferences in elections and move
16:10 them towards positions that maybe perhaps they didn't actually have to begin with, but have been influenced in that way through the social media platform. So very
16:20 dangerous stuff.
16:21 Let me shift gears with you while we have just a couple of minutes remaining and and shift over to the reconciliation 3.0 bill. The framework for that passed out of committee yesterday.
16:33 What's your take on it, and how do you think things are gonna begin shaping up next week?
16:39 I think we're gonna pass this budget resolution next week. I feel pretty confident on that, and that's the instructions for the authorizing committees to go, to get to work on writing the actual bill.
16:51 So I think we're gonna be okay there. Now many in my conference have expressed reservations that there's no offsets in this bill. 1 of the things that I would point out, and in your previous segment, you're talking about
17:03 this conflict that we have with Iran currently ongoing and the issues with the Straits of Hormuz. There are immediate and urgent requirements as it relates to replenishing our munitions for the
17:14 Department of War since this conflict has happened. The depth of our magazines have obviously depleted. So there is an emergency and urgency to, passing this reconciliation
17:26 bill, not to mention that the Save America Act is also inside of this. So part of that, number that you see is tied to election security, through the
17:38 house administration committee and the instructions that they're gonna get from that budget resolution. So certainly, look, I'm not I'm an appropriator. I'm not somebody that likes spending money with no offsets. That's
17:49 that much is clear, and my record reflects that as does many of my conservative allies in the house. But there is an emergency situation here that we do need to address immediately.
18:00 Absolutely. Unfortunately, I've only got about 30 seconds. So real quickly, I know there's a lot that the house is trying to get across the finish line before the August, district work week. What are some of the big ones
18:12 real quickly?
18:13 Well, the big 1 next week that we're gonna do, and this is kinda breaking news, we are gonna put a CR, a continuing resolution on the floor. We are trying to take the gun out of the hands of the Democrats so we don't end
18:25 up in a shutdown right around the election. We don't want that. So we're gonna go ahead and pass the CR in the house, send it to the senate, and then hopefully look. We can get these, appropriations bills done, and the
18:37 CR is not needed. But break glass just in case. You got a CR right there.
18:43 West Virginia congressman Riley Moore, thank you for joining us on Washington Watch. Coming up next, we're gonna dive deeper into the president's speech last night, so stay with us.
18:54 1 nation under God, America's undeniable foundation of faith.
19:04 Before America was exceptional, America was prayerful. Just as Paul urged Timothy, 1st of all, that prayer, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people,
19:16 our founding fathers understood deeply the command to be devoted to prayer. This great American experiment began as a mighty appeal to heaven, petitioning the lord of
19:28 heaven's armies to intervene for the righteous cause of liberty. As war began to righteous cause of liberty. As war began to sweep across the colonies, the Continental Congress called days of fasting and prayer in their
19:40 fight against the British. The lord answered and the colonies prevailed. Yet in spite of victory, our founding fathers knew that dependence on God in prayer was not to be forgotten.
19:52 With countless challenges facing our young nation, John Adams declared national days of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer to directly address the many trials and
20:04 call on Americans to seek mercy and restoration. Years later, in 1 of America's darkest hours, Abraham Lincoln stood upon this unshakable foundation by
20:16 calling the nation to repentance, declaring, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to confess their sins in humble sorrow and to recognize that those nations
20:27 only are blessed whose god is the lord. We have seen the hand of god answer prayers again and again as our nation has turned to him. However, the wise warning of Ronald
20:39 Reagan still stands. If we ever forget that we are 1 nation under god, we will be a nation gone under. Through war, uncertainty, and turning points in history, many of our
20:51 leaders have known where to turn, and now it's our turn. We echo the call of George Washington 250 years ago, humbly to supplicate the mercy of almighty god, that
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21:16 The undeniable foundation of faith.
21:22 Looking for a trusted source of news that shares your Christian values? Turn to the Washington stand, your ultimate destination for informed faith centered reporting. Our dedicated team goes beyond the headlines,
21:34 delivering stories that matter most to believers. From breaking
21:56 Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm your Friday host, Jody Heise. Thanks so much for joining us, during this hour. During his prime time address last night, president Trump
Congressional Call for Election Integrity
22:08 revealed that the Chinese Communist Party has carried out what, many are calling the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in what the president
22:20 claims is the acquisition from China of some 220000000 US voter files. This is, according to the president, an unprecedented
22:31 election security nightmare. Look at this.
22:37 Names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences, and other sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities,
22:49 which is exactly what was happening. This data loss presents an unprecedented election security nightmare.
22:58 Wow. Of course. Of course. The legacy media wants us all to believe that the president is just blowing a bunch of hot air. But really, should anyone be brushing this
23:10 aside? Well, joining us now to discuss this is former FBI special agent and former Navy Seal, Jonathan Gilliam. Jonathan previously operated as a security
23:22 specialist for the US Department of Homeland Security, where he was responsible for performing threats, threat assessments. Jonathan, welcome back to Watch and Watch. Great to see you again.
23:33 Good to be with you, Jody.
23:36 Alright. Some who heard the president's announcement last night may find it hard to believe that something like this could actually happen. But, just your your opinion,
23:48 China is capable of this type of thing. Is that I mean, they obviously are saying it's all just entirely fabricated, but this is something that
23:59 the, China CCP is capable of doing, isn't it?
24:04 Well, look. 1st of all, let's just look at the is it k is is it possible to do this, to hack into voter, voter machines? Is it is it possible to influence a nation,
24:17 by getting voter rolls and then going out and targeting those individuals. What I think we've clearly shown that, social media is a way to target these
24:29 individuals. I think we've seen from the beginning when, these apps came online that the both political parties use that tell you everything about a household, you know, what they're watching
24:41 on TV, how many people live there, what they typically vote. There are apps that do all this stuff, and it takes everything doing into account. So if that's the case and that's available to anyone
24:53 that that can, that knows how to use that app legally, well, who's to say that China, who does nefarious things all the time, who's in league with Russia, Iran, was Venezuela,
25:06 all these different Cuba, all these different groups that that want to overthrow and subvert the United States. How could you not say that it's possible that they would use any means possible to,
25:18 sway an election 1 way or the other. And and then the last thing is, Jody, you know, elections since the day they started electing leaders, elections have probably been wrought with with fraud.
25:30 It it it is a part of, human nature. When 1 person is running for something and this person doesn't like them, eventually, somebody is going to come up with the idea
25:42 that let's try to, steal this election 1 way or the other. So with all that stuff being laid out, I don't think it's any surprise what president Trump had to say. And I think that anybody who thinks it's, it
25:54 not possible, they don't live in reality. The question is, why don't they want it investigated properly? That's the real question.
26:02 Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. That's a huge question. And I think the the answer is implied by their resistance to trying to get the information, public. Another thing I
26:14 wanted to get your your thoughts on, the president also spoke last night of the internal efforts to actively suppress and to downplay all this information that he put forth. And of course,
26:26 in so doing, he he pointed to the deep state. So, again, to many, that sound like conspiracy theory. But is that deep state a conspiracy?
26:38 Is it far fetched?
26:40 Not only is it not far fetched, but I I will say 1 criticism towards the the Trump administration who's done so many incredible things. They have not concentrated on
26:52 this leftist deep state that runs these agencies. And if if they wanna brag and and say, you know, Kash Patel, for instance, I give them a lot of criticism because our biggest
27:04 national security threat is, is is not, who's on the top most wanted list. Our biggest national security threat now those things are important, but the
27:16 biggest national security threat we have is this leftist, criminal, enterprise that has subverted all of our agencies. And I haven't seen a uniformed now there's there's
27:28 been people fired and people removed, but I haven't seen a uniformed, mission to go throughout all of these agencies and get rid of these people because as we see
27:40 now, if they're in the CIA or if in the in the FBI, CIA, for instance, we just had an individual who was arrested who who worked through the ranks with a fake resume, somehow got in, worked his way
27:52 through the ranks, and was, creating operations or missions that were highly classified but were fake so he could steal money to the tune ofShow more
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