Former President Barack Obama got upset over Donald Trump's attempt to hold back the much-needed funding for the United States Postal Service. He slammed his successor for withholding the funds as part of his poor-spirited attempt to improve his chances of winning in the impending election.
Obama made an appearance in a podcast with his former campaign manager David Plouffe on Friday, and directly took on the Trump administration and even called out Vice President Mike Pence by name. Calling out the president, Obama accused him of discouraging people from voting, adding that there hasn't been a president that said "I'm going to try to actively kneecap the postal service," and then attribute the action to encouraging people to vote.
Moreover, he said the president is explicit about why he is doing it, adding that it is "sort of unheard of." Obama is alluding to the negotiations efforts between Democrats and Republicans on the new coronavirus stimulus bill. Democrats are pushing for a proposal by the postal service's Board of Governors that demands $25 billion in funding for the financially troubled federal entity, CNN reported.
Trump, who has openly criticized mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic, linked the postal service funding to voting, telling Fox Business that without the additional funding, the Post Office will not be able to accommodate the mail-in ballots in the Nov. election.
He pointed out that the postal service is asking for three and a half-billion dollars for mail-in votes that will facilitate voters' fraud, noting that it is election money. He explained that the Post Office needs that money to operate and take millions and millions of ballots, reiterating his baseless claims about mail-in voting being fraudulent.
Following Trump's Fox Business interview on Thursday morning, Obama's interview with Plouffe was taped later that day. During a briefing later in the day, Trump said he wouldn't veto a bill comprising funds for the postal service, and echoed his claims about mail-in voting leading to fraud.
Trump had appointed one of his fundraisers and longtime allies Louis DeJoy to be postmaster general, months before he shifted his focus on the postal service. Obama deemed these attempts as Trump's efforts to "starve" the postal service.
He asked Republicans why they are so scared of American people voting that they are now trying to weaken the postal service, which is a part of the basic infrastructure of the country. During the interview, Obama talked about Joe Biden's recently picked running mate Kamala Harris, describing her as someone who is experienced at about entry-level government and will be ready on day one to assume the presidency if needed.