Trump Blasts Mail-In Voting: 'If You Can Protest in Person, You Can Vote in Person'
President warns against Democrats' mail-in voting push
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As the Democrats continue to push for universal mail-in ballots across the US, President Donald Trump warned that if people can “protest in person” they can “vote in person," referring to the ongoing nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.
“IF YOU CAN PROTEST IN PERSON, YOU CAN VOTE IN PERSON!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
IF YOU CAN PROTEST IN PERSON, YOU CAN VOTE IN PERSON!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2020
The president's tweets came as protests across the US in several major cities continued following the death of George Floyd.
Despite many Democrat governors enforcing stay-at-home orders, they still allow large groups to gather with or without masks.
Earlier this week, Trump warned that Americans wouldn't get a "fair" presidential election if mail-in voting is allowed for November.
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The president said America is "never going to have a fair" presidential election if universal mail-in voting is widely allowed.
"I have to tell you, that if you go with this universal mail-in ... tens of millions of ballots being sent to everybody and their dogs, dogs are getting them okay, people that have been dead for 25 years are getting them, you have to see what's happening."
Though under ten states have universal mail-in voting, the Democrats are trying to push for broader use across the US.
On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recalled members back to Washington D.C. to vote on a USPS bill.
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On Tuesday, postmaster General Louis DeJoy said he would suspend several cost-cutting initiatives “to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail.”
Trump said he's taking steps to correct what he described as a long-term “disaster” in the USPS’s finances.
“This isn’t a Trump thing. This has been one of the disasters of the world, the way it’s been run,” Trump said.
“What am I supposed to do, let it continue to be run badly?”
The president blasted Pelosi's move calling it a “con game" while noting there were enough funds available to the USPS.
“The Post Office, there’s $25 billion sitting there, but they really want $1 trillion to bail out their badly run states,” Trump said of Democratic lawmakers.
Trump also expressed support for extending voting to include the weekend before Election Day, to ease crowding with additional voting booths.
"I would support all of that. That’s what you want to do,” Trump said.
“I would be for opening more voting booths."
Last week, the United States Postal Service warned voters in 46 different states that they cannot guarantee that their mail-in ballots will arrive in time to be counted for the election.
USPS sent letters warning 46 states and the District of Columbia that ballots cast by mail may not arrive in time, the Washington Post reported.
