Trump's attack on the Post Office is drawing more fire than any past scandal, and for good reason

Daily Kos Staff

Saturday August 15, 2020 · 9:58 AM PDT

2020/08/15 · 09:58

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 23: U.S. President Donald Trump catches a baseball thrown by former New York Yankees Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera on the South Lawn of the White House on July 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. President Trump and Rivera met with youth baseball players to celebrate Opening Day of Major League Baseball. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

For anyone still under the delusion that Donald Trump is playing some kind of 13-dimensional chess, this is how we’re about to go into the fall election when it comes to messaging:

Democrats: Donald Trump is attempting to destroy the Postal Service so that he can keep you from mailing in ballots in a free and fair election.

Republicans: Yeah, but … did you know Hunter Biden once met with the undersecretary of tourism for Ukraine? What about that, huh?

The Postal Service isn’t as American as apple pie and baseball, it’s more American than those things. Because the Postal Service is hard-coded into the Constitution. It’s also a vital lifeline that delivers everything from that latest custom Etsy mask to life-saving medications. If Trump actually succeeds in destroying the Postal Service in order to give himself a “win” in the election, but it’s not a move of made from some devious brilliance. It’s the bumbling action of a desperate loser.

That desperate action is not only bringing unprecedented media attention, it’s drawing the ire of everyone left and right — starting with President Barack Obama.

Everyone depends on the USPS. Seniors for their Social Security, veterans for their prescriptions, small businesses trying to keep their doors open. They can't be collateral damage for an administration more concerned with suppressing the vote than suppressing a virus.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 14, 2020

We cannot let Donald Trump destroy the United States Postal Service. Congress must step up to ensure our nation’s seniors can get their life-saving medicine on time and that people can safely cast their ballots.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 15, 2020

Below is the USPS Board of Governors. Give them a call, send an email — do whatever possible to make your voice heard. Let them know that this is unacceptable and they cannot suppress our vote. #ProtectOurVotes pic.twitter.com/9oZGekiW72
— Biden | Harris War Room (Text READY to 30330) (@BidenWarRoom) August 15, 2020

Trump & his Postmaster are sabotaging @USPS, and I won't stop fighting back. That's why I've called on the @OIGUSPS to investigate Louis DeJoy's delivery changes and corruption. #DontMessWithUSPS https://t.co/fNDzjVy8k9
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) August 14, 2020

It’s not just Trump that‘s destroying the US Post Office.

It’s the entire Republican Party.

Senate & House GOP could easily override a Trump veto of postal funding and help oversight.

Republicans are working with Trump to destroy the USPS and sabotage the delivery of ballots. https://t.co/5qIMUDxQot
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 13, 2020

Trump’s acts of sabotage against the postal service are a distraction from his dreadful mismanagement of #coronavirus and a domestic assault on our sacred right to vote.

The American people *will* have a free and fair election. #SaveThePostOffice pic.twitter.com/FzsusJcSYU
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) August 14, 2020

Has there ever been a president so utterly devoid of scruple, so naked in his ambition to steal an election?

Trump is so terrified of losing that he'll take the entire system down with him.

Our post office. Our elections. Our very democracy.

His depravity is boundless. https://t.co/lz208dU18R
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) August 13, 2020

I don’t say this lightly: when we escape this Trump hell, America needs a Presidential Crimes Commission. It should be made up of independent prosecutors who look at those who enabled a corrupt president. Example 1: Sabotaging the mail to win an election. #SaveThePostOffice
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) August 14, 2020

WATCH: I toured @USPS facilities across #WV today to thank our postal workers. People need their medicine, checks, & their ballots. That's why I filed the POST Act to prevent post office closures during the #COVID19 pandemic. Now is not the time to play politics with our mail. pic.twitter.com/0XtC2slxAD
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) August 14, 2020

1) Prime time hearings, now.
2) Subpoenas to Trump WH and camp officials. This is a RICO case
3) Visit local post offices with cameras - show people what is happening.
4) Events with those getting Rx late
5) Involve governors
5) No rest, no vacation. Go to war for our country.
— David Plouffe (@davidplouffe) August 14, 2020

This issue isn’t just getting this level of attention because it’s important—of course it’s important. But it’s also not the first time Trump has tried to steal the election, and he’s currently engaged in genocide against Americans who live in the “wrong” states. This issue is getting hit by everyone because it’s visceral. You don’t have to be a legal scholar, expert on email servers, or foreign policy wonk to get the importance of what’s going on here. You also don’t have be on the left or right end of the political spectrum.

Trying to destroy the Post Office, for any reason, feels wrong to everyone.

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Trump's attack on the Post Office is drawing more fire than any past scandal, and for good reason

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