Trump says postmaster general wants to make USPS "great again”
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President Trump continued his ongoing attacks on mail-in voting during a press conference Saturday, claiming without strong evidence that voting by mail will make the U.S. a “laughingstock."
What he's saying: When asked if Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's has Trump's backing, the president responded: "Yeah, he wants to make the post office great again."
"Universal mail-in voting is going to be catastrophic. It's going to make the U.S. a laughingstock all over the world," Trump said.
- He noted that,"Absentee voting is great," just days after Palm Beach County election officials sent his and First Lady Melania Trump's mail-in ballots for Florida’s Aug. 18 primary election.
- "...but now they want to send in millions and millions of ballots and you see what's happened. They're being lost, they're being discarded ... it's going to be a catastrophe."
- "There’s no way they’re going to get it accurately," Trump said of universal mail-in voting.
- "The problem with the mail-in voting, number one, you're never going to know when the election's over."
- Trump also predicted it could take “months” or “years” to know the results of the November elections.
Context: DeJoy has implemented a number of changes to the Postal Service, shaking up its leadership and eliminating overtime and certain delivery policies.
- Congressional Democrats and some state and local officials have criticized DeJoy's changes, saying they fear cost-cutting measures and modifications could delay election mail, which could disenfranchise voters and delay election results.
Congress is seeking $25 billion in aid for USPS ahead of an anticipated spike in mail-in voting this November due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Trump has repeatedly vowed to block funding to help the agency as it prepares to processes mail-in ballots unless Democrats agree to some Republican compromises in the coronavirus stimulus bill.
- DeJoy, who took over USPS in June, is a Trump donor and defender.
