President Donald Trump has refused additional funding for the U.S. Postal Service, needed to enable it handle an anticipated surge in mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Trump acknowledged on Thursday that this move would deprive the postal agency’s the needed funding ahead of the election, he also predicted without providing evidence that mail-in voting would lead to massive voter fraud in the November election.
The Republican president said on Fox Business Network that among the big sticking points for a new congressional virus relief package were the Democrats’ demands for billions of dollars to assist states in protecting the election and to help postal workers process mail-in ballots.
“They need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump said on “Mornings with Maria,” adding, “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.”
For Democrats, Trump’s comments Thursday morning were a clear admission that the president is attempting to restrict voting rights.
“The President of the United States is sabotaging a basic service that hundreds of millions of people rely upon, cutting a critical lifeline for rural economies and for delivery of medicines, because he wants to deprive Americans of their fundamental right to vote safely during the most catastrophic public health crisis in over 100 years,” Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.
