President Donald Trump said the quiet part out loud, admitting that he was intentionally withholding money from the US Postal Service to undermine its ability to handle mail-in voting in the 2020 election.
“They need that money in order to make the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump said on Fox Business Thursday morning of the states that are implementing universal mail-in voting ahead of the November election. “But if they don’t get those two items that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting, because they’re not equipped to have it.”
The comments make clear why Trump and congressional Republicans have steadfastly refused to grant the Post Office money in the latest round of negotiations over coronavirus stimulus. Trump has long attacked mail voting as fraud-prone even though there’s little evidence that’s true — and sees slowdowns at the Post Office as a way to screw up mail voting.
Widespread delays in ballot delivery could disenfranchise millions of people, lead to widespread chaos and potentially swinging a close election. Polls show that Democrats are increasingly likely to use mail voting as a safe way to cast a ballot during the pandemic, while Trump’s attacks on mail voting have pushed Republicans away from a method they’ve often used in the past.
And after a Trump lackey now running the Post Office pushed through a series of changes, the mail has been slowed down considerably in a number of states, an alarming sign heading into November’s elections.
READ MORE: Trump Suggests Delaying the 2020 Election Over Mail-In Voting
Trump’s comments to Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo echo statements he made at a Wednesday press conference at the White House.
“They don’t have the money to do the universal mail-in voting,” Trump said of the Post Office, which is requesting billions in emergency funding. “So, therefore, they can’t do it, I guess. Are they going to do it even if they don’t have the money?”
Trump also said using mail-in voting would cause “one of the greatest frauds in history.”
The Trump administration has been heavily criticized for recent mail delays, particularly after the appointment of Trump donor Louis DeJoy as postmaster general in June. DeJoy has banned overtime for postal workers and taken other measures that he claims will make the Post Office more efficient and cost-effective.
Cover: President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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