Joe Biden mocked President Donald Trump on Friday over his apparent hypocrisy on the issue of mail-in voting.
Trump, who is falling further behind rival Biden in his fight for reelection, is leading a vigorous campaign to sow doubts about mail-in voting and how it could lead to voter fraud and election collapse.
In a tweet early Saturday, he claimed the election would be a ‘fraudulent mess’ and the U.S. will ‘never know who won’.
Yet the president and his wife Melania trusted the security of the postal system enough to register themselves for a mail-in vote in Florida this week.
Biden called out the president online for warning voters against voting by mail while doing the same himself.
Joe Biden called out President Trump Friday for hypocrisy on mail-in voting, tweeting how voters should do as the president does, not as he says, and register to vote by mail
Biden said Friday that ‘voting by mail is safe and secure’ as he hit out at Trump
‘Voting by mail is safe and secure. And don’t take my word for it: Take it from the President, who just requested his mail-in ballot for the Florida primary on Tuesday,’ Biden tweeted.
Trump’s hypocrisy was also called out by his 2016 rival Hillary Clinton who tweeted: ‘What’s good enough for the Trumps should be good enough for the people they work for—the rest of us.’
According to CNN, Trump and First Lady Melania requested mail-in ballots for Florida’s primary election on Tuesday.
The ballots were mailed Wednesday to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, records show. Trump made the Florida home his permanent residence instead of New York last year.
In apparent attempts to cover himself, the president earlier this month tweeted that Florida’s own system was safe compared to other states.
‘Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True,’ he wrote.
‘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!’
Though Trump casts his own ballots by mail, he’s repeatedly criticized efforts to allow more people to do so, which he argues without evidence will lead to increased voter fraud that could cost him the election.
On Saturday morning, he continued to push the idea that mail-in voting will collapse the system and questioned the legitimacy of the election.
‘The Democrats know the 2020 election will be a fraudulent mess. Will maybe never know who won!’ he claimed.
Trump’s admitted on Thursday that he is starving the U.S. Postal Service of money
Yet mail-in ballots were sent on Wednesday to both the president and First Lady at the Mar-a-Lago resort (pictured). The club has been Trump’s permanent residence since last year
Trump suggested Saturday the November election would not be legitimate
Trump’s former rival Hillary Clinton also called out his hypocrisy on mail-in voting
On Thursday, Trump seemed to suggest that he is blocking funding for the postal service in an attempt to slow it down ahead of the November election.
The president said that he was opposing much needed funding because he didn’t want to see it being used on making voting by mail easier.
The U.S. Postal Service is currently bracing for an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It is estimated that up to half of U.S. voters could cast ballots by mail this November.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has denied that politics are at play in the post office ahead of the November election
On Friday, the post office’s internal watchdog announced it is investigating cost cutting that has slowed delivery and alarmed lawmakers ahead of a presidential election.
The Postal Service’s inspector general also will examine possible conflicts of interest involving new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who has donated $2.7 million to President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans, according to Saloni Sharma, a spokeswoman for Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who requested the investigation.
DeJoy owns millions of dollars in stock in Postal Service rivals and customers, according to a financial disclosure form filed by his wife.
The Inspector General’s Office is ‘conducting a body of work to address concerns raised,’ spokeswoman Agapi Doulaveris said
The investigation comes as the Postal Service is warning states there is ‘significant risk’ voters will not have enough time to complete and return their ballots.
The Postal Service late on Friday released letters it had sent to 46 states and the District of Columbia, after the Washington Post reported earlier on the extent of the warnings.
The warning highlighted the possibility that a meaningful number of mail votes in the November 3 presidential election might go uncounted if they are returned too late.
Mail-in ballots being processed at at the Chester County Voter Services office in Pennsylvania. The U.S. Postal Service issued a warning Friday that not all ballots may be delivered on time
‘State and local election officials must understand and take into account our operational standards and recommended timelines,’ Postal Service spokeswoman Martha Johnson said.
Election officials are bracing for a deluge of mail ballots as many states have made it easier to vote by mail to address concerns about public gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.
Evidence has shown that mail voting is as secure as any other method.
Biden and other Democrats say Trump is trying to interfere with the election by withholding funding.
Former Democratic President Barack Obama said he was worried that Trump was trying to ‘kneecap’ the Postal Service.
The issue has taken on added urgency in recent weeks as cost-cutting measures put in place by DeJoy have led to widespread mail delays.
The measures have included removal of letter collection boxes in some states.
Democratic congressional leaders and committee leaders sent a letter to Dejoy on Friday demanding an explanation for changes he is making at postal facilities.