Il dito puntato di Trump sull’USPS (United States Postal Service: Servizio Postale degli Stati Uniti) è l’ultimo tentativo di riscrivere la storia in tempo reale
President Donald Trump sought to reframe the fall election two days before the Democratic National Convention, arguing on Saturday that key economic and pandemic indicators were moving in his favor, while attempting to shift blame for US Postal Service funding problems to Democrats and refusing to acknowledge his administration’s efforts to undermine the agency three months before Election Day.
The President’s finger-pointing and misinformation about the upheaval within the USPS was his latest attempt to rewrite history in real time into a version that better suits his reelection narrative.
Il dito puntato e la disinformazione del presidente sullo sconvolgimento all’interno dell’USPS sono stati il suo ultimo tentativo di riscrivere la storia in tempo reale in una versione che meglio si adatta alla sua narrativa di rielezione.
He’s long done the same with the economy. Glossing over the fact that the US economy contracted at a 32.9% annual rate during the second quarter and tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic, Trump claimed Saturday that the US is witnessing “the fastest economic recovery in American history” because of the “foundation” set by his administration. He touted an all-time high in retail sales and gains in the stock market as evidence of a rebound that would sway voters to support him in November.
“If I win, which — I hope to win, how can you not when you see numbers like this both on the virus and on the economy?” Trump said during a Saturday news conference at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
“I mean, we should win. We should all keep this incredible thing going. And I built it once and I’ll build it again.”
“Voglio dire, dovremmo vincere. Dovremmo tutti mantenere questa cosa incredibile. E l’ho costruita una volta e la ricostruirò”.
Blaming Democrats – Incolpare i Democratici
At a time when his administration is engulfed in controversy over its efforts to curtail USPS operations when the demand for mail-in ballots has grown exponentially due to the pandemic, Trump tried to blame the agency’s funding woes on Democrats. He said they are blocking negotiations on the next stimulus package due to an impasse over the Democrats’ proposed aid package for states that drained their coffers while fighting the pandemic.
On Friday, the postal service, which is mired in longstanding funding problems, warned nearly all 50 states and Washington, DC, that mail-in ballots may not be received by election offices in time to be counted.
Venerdì, il servizio postale, impantanato in problemi di finanziamento di vecchia data, ha avvertito quasi tutti i 50 stati e Washington, DC, che le schede elettorali per posta potrebbero non essere ricevute dagli uffici elettorali in tempo per essere conteggiate.
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CNN and other news organizations reported Friday that the postal service has reduced operating hours in several states and was removing letter collection boxes off streets in some states, according to union officials.
(As of Saturday afternoon, representatives at the USPS’ national headquarters in Washington were still unable to confirm whether they would stop removing letter collection boxes until after the election.)
Trump admitted last week during a Fox News interviewthat he opposes at least part of the proposed emergency funding infusion for the post office, because he believes the uptick in mail-in ballotsduring the pandemic will favor Democrats.
Trump ha ammesso la scorsa settimana durante un’intervista a Fox News di essere contrario ad almeno una parte della proposta di finanziamenti di emergenza per l’ufficio postale, perché ritiene che l’aumento dei voti per corrispondenza durante la pandemia favorirà i Democratici.
In the NPR/PBS/Marist poll released last week, 62% of Joe Biden’s supporters say they plan to cast their ballot by mail, while 72% of Trump supporters say they will vote in person.
During the Fox interview, Trump said Democrats want $25 billion for the USPS as part of the stimulus negotiations with $3.5 billion directed toward mail-in voting. He then repeated his baseless claim that mail-in voting will lead to voter fraud, stating that the $3.5 billion will go toward “something that’ll turn out to be fraudulent.”
Revealing his own political calculations as they relate to post office funding, Trump went on to say in that Fox interview that if Democrats don’t get that funding “that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting.” (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the bipartisan board of governors that runs the USPS — a board whose members are appointed by Trump — requested the proposal of $25 billion for USPS in the next stimulus bill).
On Saturday, Trump continued to sow doubts about the integrity of the November election, claiming without any evidence that “universal mail-in voting is going to be catastrophic” and would “make our country a laughingstock all over the world.”
Sabato, Trump ha continuato a seminare dubbi sull’integrità delle elezioni di novembre, sostenendo senza alcuna prova che “il voto universale per corrispondenza sarà catastrofico” e “renderebbe il nostro paese uno zimbello in tutto il mondo”.
He claimed to not know the details of the scaling back of postal services under new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a GOP donor and Trump fundraiser, calling DeJoy a “fantastic man” who “wants to make the post office great again.” On Friday, CNN reported that the USPS inspector general is reviewing controversial policy changes by DeJoy, including eliminating overtime for workers.
“I don’t know what he’s doing. I can only tell you he’s a very smart man,” Trump said Saturday.
Democrats are considering bringing the House of Representatives back into session as early as next week to discuss the issues facing the USPS, according to CNN reporting late Saturday.
Former President Bill Clinton criticized the changes made by the postmaster general on Saturday.
“We expect our elected officials to protect the right to vote and to ensure every vote is counted. This attack on the Postal Service —an institution as old as the Republic itself and depended upon, and trusted by, millions of Americans— is designed to ensure that neither is done,” Clinton tweeted.
Trump claims progress on the pandemic
Trump afferma che la pandemia sta progredendo
Trump tried to strike an upbeat tone on Saturday as he gave an update on coronavirus case positivity rates and hospitalization rates. He cited improvements in the test turnaround times by commercial labs and said the administration has intensified its focus on shielding the most at-risk individuals in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, by rushing protective gear and rapid testing equipment to those sites.
As of Saturday, there were at least 5.3 million coronavirus cases in the US and more than 169,000 US deaths. The seven-day average of new cases was trending down in 22 states as of Saturday, but last week, the US was continuing to average more than 1,000 deaths per day.
As the Trump administration continues its push for students to return to school for in-person instruction, new guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the Covid-19 rates in children are steadily increasing, creating new fears for parents. An analysis by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association also found that there has been a 90% increase in Covid-19 cases among children over the four-week period from July 9 to August 6.
Trump also said Saturday he did not agree with the assessment of CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield that America could be primed for “the worst fall, from a public health perspective, we’ve ever had,” if people don’t follow the CDC guidelines on basic safety measures like wearing masks and avoiding crowds.
“You can’t compare it to 1917, that was incredible. That was the worst ever by far,” Trump said Saturday, referring to the flu pandemic that caused tens of millions of deaths worldwide in 1918 and 1919. “No, I don’t agree with that.”
“I do believe that Americans, many are wearing masks, which is a good thing,
“Credo che gli americani, molti indossino maschere, il che è positivo,
” Trump added, with no hint of irony, after he held out so long on wearing a mask in public and many of his most loyal GOP governors have refused to impose mask mandates in their states. “When you look at the numbers, the way the numbers are coming out, I mean, it’s very impressive when you see what’s happening…. We’ve done it right. We closed it up.”
He then immediately pivoted to the economy, which he is counting on to save his reelection prospects:
“Our economy is going to set records — if stupid people aren’t elected next year, we’re going to have one of the greatest years that we’ve ever had.”
La nostra economia stabilirà record – se gli stupidi non saranno eletti l’anno prossimo, avremo uno degli anni migliori. che abbiamo mai avuto. “
(CNN)