Trump suddenly scrambles to encourage mail-in voting in Florida after weeks of attacking it
Donald Trump thinks that mail-in voting is rife with the potential for fraud and should be banned…except in states where it can hurt his re-election prospects.
That’s the only possible conclusion for the reversal of course that the president took today in his tweet absolving Florida of any the taint that he’s liberally slathered on the absentee voting processes in states controlled by Democratic leaders and in other swing states where he eked out tiny victories in 2016.
Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True. Florida’s Voting system has been cleaned up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change), so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail! #MAGA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2020
Add your name to demand Congress reject Trump’s dictatorial call to delay the election!
The biggest problem with Trump’s personal certification of the Florida Vote by Mail election system is the fact that — for once — Trump is actually correct.
It’s just that his testimony that the Florida election process is “Safe and Secure, Tried and True” applies just as much to every other state in the union, despite the president’s self-serving campaign to claim otherwise in the face of poll numbers that would have inspired any sane person — or one not under the threat of indictment, conviction, and imprisonment at the instant he leaves office — to drop out of the race.
Perhaps the only thing more infuriating than Trump’s obvious attempts to contradict everything he’s been saying about mail-in voting for the past few weeks — including erasing the non-existent distinction between absentee ballots and mail-in voting — is his unwarranted confidence that the American people won’t see through his self-serving pivot so obviously inspired by reports that his rhetoric would convince Florida’s considerable population of GOP seniors to refuse to vote by mail and avoid what will likely be polling places still filled with asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers even in November.
The response on social media to Trump’s latest 180-degree turn predictably ranged from outraged to derisive and indicated that the president was fooling no one with his latest gambit.
Allow me to translate: someone told him that he's scaring his elderly supporters in Florida away from vote-by-mail and it's gonna hurt him so hence this. https://t.co/mPAlUlfpiV
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) August 4, 2020
Fact is, voting by mail has been utilized and safe ever since the Civil War. Each ballot has a unique bar code and must have a signature that matches the signatures on record at the election office. It’s as safe as it can get.
— Mrs. Krassenstein (@HKrassenstein) August 4, 2020
At this point, a debate isn't even necessary. Just let Trump continue to implode.
— Angela Belcamino (@AngelaBelcamino) August 4, 2020
Keep trying , god bless your little heart
— Seanie_QQ7-45+Eyes-Wide-Open (@007Seanie) August 4, 2020
He had trouble finding the right polling place in 2004. That's when he switched to voting by mail. His lap dog Billy Bush was no help. pic.twitter.com/YiLH3dtMwZ
— Toony (@WhatsUpToonboy) August 4, 2020
At least Twitter has Trump’s number.
Let’s hope that enough of the rest of the country can see through his dissembling to ensure his defeat whether by in-person ballots, mail-in votes, or the indistinguishable absentee ballots.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
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