‘Damned Evil’: Trump Shocks Americans With Open Boasts About Defunding the Post Office Before Election

President Donald Trump has shocked many Americans with his declaration that he doesn’t want to give the United States Postal Service enough funding to count ballots that have been sent via mail.

When asked by Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo about extra funding for the Post Office during a Thursday morning interview, Trump explicitly tied his refusal to give the USPS what it needed with his desire to block mail-in voting.

“Now they need that money in order to make the Post Office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump said. “But if they don’t get those two items that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting.”

Americans watching the interview quickly took to Twitter to express their shock and outrage — check out some reactions below.

Not yet 9:30 AM, and we already have today’s impeachable offense. Deliberately underfunding the Post Office so people affected by COVID, or worried about getting it, can’t vote is pretty dammed evil. https://t.co/CeBWi8IceN

— Radley Balko (@radleybalko) August 13, 2020

Trump admits to politicizing the Post Office to steal an election conducted by mail https://t.co/IszgYHo5Yc

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) August 13, 2020

We need to call this what it is: a brazen attempt to steal the election by invalidating vote by mail ballots. In the process, he’s putting people’s lives at risk by COVID. https://t.co/7Gr8fPrYSX

— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) August 13, 2020

Undermining the USPS is voter suppression—and it’s intentional. https://t.co/QE7XDjJqqk

— Rep. Mark Pocan (@repmarkpocan) August 13, 2020

Wrecking a fundamental constitutional institution founded by Benjamin Franklin in order to prevent a full count of ballots in your reelection campaign sounds pretty bad! https://t.co/cjpJVKJF2h

— Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) August 13, 2020

the media must start describing this for what it is: a massive voter suppression effort orchestrated by the president.

every republican should be forced to answer for it.

for a party that spent the last decade “combating voter fraud” it should be easy to condemn. https://t.co/EKB6abmIER

— mike casca (@cascamike) August 13, 2020

He keeps admitting his plans out loud and then his allies are like “no no, there was no quid pro quo in Ukraine!! He was just telling them to do something so they’d get something he was withholding” https://t.co/lnlGw6wVtj

— Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) August 13, 2020

Trump is straight up admitting that he’s blocking funding for the post office to prevent millions of Americans from excercising their right to vote.

Saying the quiet part out loud that he’s trying to rig the election. Unprecedented for a sitting president https://t.co/tLru1VWKSu

— Stephen Wolf (@PoliticsWolf) August 13, 2020

He’s going to kill the post office to suppress voting. We need people in the streets over this, not litigation. https://t.co/t8uHv383WB

— Doug Henwood (@DougHenwood) August 13, 2020

He is stealing the election. A robbery in broad daylight. https://t.co/3fpurwmlMq

— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) August 13, 2020

The @USPS is an essential service and enshrined in our constitution. Trump is intentionally trying to sabotage it to win an election. This is just another example of how Trump thinks he’s above the law. #SaveTheUSPS https://t.co/pfwThLxjzT

— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) August 13, 2020

Here’s a friendly reminder that a robber’s not better than a burglar. Sure, the burglar’s a sneak creeping in the dark while you’re out. And a robber’s the honest chap telling you it’s your money or your life. But there are no points for honesty on the losing end of a gun barrel. https://t.co/Oz0oVrrOaD

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) August 13, 2020

President Trump openly announcing to the world that he intends to sabotage the November presidential election and not a peep from Republicans. https://t.co/cEjy8kTsAw

— Kevin M. Levin (@KevinLevin) August 13, 2020

The USPS is enormously popular with the public & enjoys broad bipartisan support because of it. 4 million people a day get their prescription drugs. 100k veterans have a job at USPS. Everyone has equal access and rural America is cut off without it. Congress must act. #ReliefNow https://t.co/a6FkMgxhVe

— Sara Nelson (@FlyingWithSara) August 13, 2020

IMPEACH HIS FAT ASS AGAIN https://t.co/sHBMBs5INc

— Antifacist sentimentalist (@JesseLaGreca) August 13, 2020

If this happened in other countries, past US presidents and the State Department would have condemned it for what it is: an attempt by the incumbent to abuse the powers of his office to manipulate an upcoming election in his favor. https://t.co/yA6EyjgKtk

— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) August 13, 2020

“The Congress shall have Power … To establish Post Offices and post Roads” Article 1, Section 8, Clause 7. President Trump is very publicly & transparently undermining the Post Office to steal an election, which will also jeopardize access to medicine for 10’s of millions. https://t.co/X4vsUKha3J

— David Rothschild (@DavMicRot) August 13, 2020

Hey remember when we used to make fun of dodgy Latin America nations as messy and call them corrupt banana-republics?

They at least have nice weather and lush mountains.https://t.co/TAa00Hyzpw

— A.J. Delgado (@AJDelgado13) August 13, 2020

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Saying the quiet part out loud. #SaveUSPS https://t.co/MfLqMHqE30

— People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) August 13, 2020