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USPS crisis: Trump’s finger-pointing on post office is latest attempt to rewrite history in real time

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The President’s finger-pointing and misinformation in regards to the upheaval throughout the USPS was his latest attempt to rewrite history in real time right into a model that higher fits his reelection narrative.

He is lengthy executed the identical with the financial system. Glossing over the truth that the US financial system contracted at a 32.9% annual fee throughout the second quarter and tens of hundreds of thousands of Individuals have misplaced their jobs because of the pandemic, Trump claimed Saturday that the US is witnessing “the quickest financial restoration in American history” due to the “basis” set by his administration. He touted an all-time excessive in retail gross sales and positive aspects in the inventory market as proof of a rebound that may sway voters to help him in November.

“If I win, which — I hope to win, how are you going to not whenever you see numbers like this each on the virus and on the financial system?” Trump mentioned throughout a Saturday information convention at his golf membership in Bedminster, New Jersey. “I imply, we must always win. We should always all maintain this unimaginable factor going. And I constructed it as soon as and I will construct it once more.”

Blaming Democrats

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At a time when his administration is engulfed in controversy over its efforts to curtail USPS operations when the demand for mail-in ballots has grown exponentially due to the pandemic, Trump tried to blame the company’s funding woes on Democrats. He mentioned they’re blocking negotiations on the following stimulus bundle due to an deadlock over the Democrats’ proposed assist bundle for states that drained their coffers whereas preventing the pandemic.

On Friday, the postal service, which is mired in longstanding funding issues, warned nearly all 50 states and Washington, DC, that mail-in ballots is probably not obtained by election places of work in time to be counted.
Trump campaign's poll-watching plans spark fears of voter suppressionTrump campaign's poll-watching plans spark fears of voter suppression

CNN and different information organizations reported Friday that the postal service has diminished working hours in a number of states and was eradicating letter assortment bins off streets in some states, in accordance to union officers.

(As of Saturday afternoon, representatives on the USPS’ nationwide headquarters in Washington had been nonetheless unable to confirm whether or not they would cease eradicating letter assortment bins till after the election.)
Trump admitted final week throughout a Fox News interview that he opposes at the least a part of the proposed emergency funding infusion for the post office, as a result of he believes the uptick in mail-in ballots throughout the pandemic will favor Democrats. Within the NPR/PBS/Marist poll launched final week, 62% of Joe Biden’s supporters say they plan to forged their poll by mail, whereas 72% of Trump supporters say they’ll vote in individual.
In the course of the Fox interview, Trump mentioned Democrats need $25 billion for the USPS as a part of the stimulus negotiations with $3.5 billion directed towards mail-in voting. He then repeated his baseless claim that mail-in voting will lead to voter fraud, stating that the $3.5 billion will go towards “one thing that’ll prove to be fraudulent.”

Revealing his personal political calculations as they relate to post office funding, Trump went on to say in that Fox interview that if Democrats do not get that funding “which means you’ll be able to’t have common mail-in voting.” (Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi has mentioned the bipartisan board of governors that runs the USPS — a board whose members are appointed by Trump — requested the proposal of $25 billion for USPS in the following stimulus invoice).

On Saturday, Trump continued to sow doubts in regards to the integrity of the November election, claiming with none proof that “common mail-in voting is going to be catastrophic” and would “make our nation a laughingstock all around the world.”

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How to make sure your 2021 mail-in vote is countedHow to make sure your 2021 mail-in vote is counted
He claimed to not know the main points of the scaling again of postal companies beneath new Postmaster Common Louis DeJoy, a GOP donor and Trump fundraiser, calling DeJoy a “improbable man” who “needs to make the post office nice once more.” On Friday, CNN reported that the USPS inspector normal is reviewing controversial policy changes by DeJoy, together with eliminating time beyond regulation for employees.

“I do not know what he is doing. I can solely let you know he is a really good man,” Trump mentioned Saturday.

Democrats are contemplating bringing the Home of Representatives back into session as early as subsequent week to focus on the problems going through the USPS, in accordance to CNN reporting late Saturday.

Former President Invoice Clinton criticized the adjustments made by the postmaster normal on Saturday.

“We anticipate our elected officers to shield the best to vote and to guarantee each vote is counted. This assault on the Postal Service —an establishment as outdated because the Republic itself and depended upon, and trusted by, hundreds of thousands of Individuals— is designed to be sure that neither is executed,” Clinton tweeted.

Trump claims progress on the pandemic

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Trump tried to strike an upbeat tone on Saturday as he gave an replace on coronavirus case positivity charges and hospitalization charges. He cited enhancements in the check turnaround instances by business labs and mentioned the administration has intensified its focus on shielding essentially the most at-risk people in nursing houses and long-term care services, by speeding protecting gear and fast testing gear to these websites.

As of Saturday, there have been at the least 5.Three million coronavirus instances in the US and greater than 169,000 US deaths. The seven-day common of latest instances was trending down in 22 states as of Saturday, however final week, the US was persevering with to common greater than 1,000 deaths per day.
Because the Trump administration continues its push for college students to return to faculty for in-person instruction, new steerage from the US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention says the Covid-19 charges in kids are steadily increasing, creating new fears for folks. An evaluation by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Kids’s Hospital Affiliation additionally discovered that there was a 90% increase in Covid-19 instances amongst kids over the four-week interval from July 9 to August 6.
Trump additionally mentioned Saturday he didn’t agree with the assessment of CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield that America might be primed for “the worst fall, from a public well being perspective, we have ever had,” if folks do not observe the CDC tips on fundamental security measures like sporting masks and avoiding crowds.

“You’ll be able to’t evaluate it to 1917, that was unimaginable. That was the worst ever by far,” Trump mentioned Saturday, referring to the flu pandemic that brought about tens of hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide in 1918 and 1919. “No, I do not agree with that.”

“I do imagine that Individuals, many are sporting masks, which is a very good factor,” Trump added, with no trace of irony, after he held out so lengthy on sporting a masks in public and lots of of his most loyal GOP governors have refused to impose masks mandates in their states. “If you have a look at the numbers, the way in which the numbers are popping out, I imply, it’s totally spectacular whenever you see what’s taking place…. We have executed it proper. We closed it up.”

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He then instantly pivoted to the financial system, which he is counting on to save his reelection prospects: “Our financial system is going to set information — if silly folks aren’t elected subsequent yr, we’re going to have one of many best years that we have ever had.”

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