Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) criticized President Donald Trump over his apparent opposition to mail-in voting and funding for the United States Postal Service (USPS) ahead of the upcoming general election.
Sanders appeared on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 369” Thursday, where he offered his take on Trump and the USPS.
According to Sanders, Trump “may be crazy, but he’s not stupid” as he noted the polls which signal a decline in support amid the pandemic and economic problems plaguing the country.
“What this is about is not complicated. Trump may be crazy, but he’s not stupid. And he looks at polling. He is behind,” Sanders said. “And I think what he and his friends believe [is] that if they can suppress the vote — make it harder for people to vote — they have a better chance to win the election.”
See Sanders’ remarks below (starting at 4:15):
Sen. @BernieSanders says the President's "irresponsibility" has caused too many Americans to die "unnecessarily" from Covid-19.
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) August 14, 2020
"He doesn't believe in the science of epidemiology," he says, adding "what we have had… is a President who has ignored the severity of the crisis." pic.twitter.com/wrY7fkaDpM
Sanders’ appearance on CNN came just hours after Trump’s interview with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Thursday, as previously reported on IJR.
During that interview, the president claimed Democratic lawmakers were demanding $25 billion to bail out the postal service.
“They want $25 billion for the post office. Now, they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump said during the interview. “Now in the meantime, they aren’t getting there. By the way, those are just two items. But if they don’t get those two items that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting, because they’re not equipped to have it.”
He continued, “Now, if we don’t make a deal, that means they don’t get the money. That means they can’t have universal mail-in voting,” adding, “They just can’t have it. So, you know, sort of a crazy thing.”
In response to Trump’s remarks, Sanders fired back via Twitter as he vowed that Democrats would not stand for “a blatant attempt at mass voter suppression.”
“Today on Fox, Trump made it clear that his effort to defund the Postal Service is a blatant attempt at mass voter suppression,” Sanders tweeted.
Today on Fox, Trump made it clear that his effort to defund the Postal Service is a blatant attempt at mass voter suppression. No, Mr. President. We won't let you sabotage the election. This is a democracy, not a damn dictatorship. Your reign of authoritarianism will soon end. https://t.co/CI24RvFtFm
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 13, 2020
He continued, “No, Mr. President. We won’t let you sabotage the election. This is a democracy, not a damn dictatorship. Your reign of authoritarianism will soon end.”
