Trump's Big Postal Service Gamble

When Donald Trump ran for president back in 2016, he stated, boasting that he could walk down 5th Avenue, shoot someone and get away with it. No one really took Trump seriously, saying that was “Trump being Trump” and ignore the ramblings of someone who wasn’t serious about winning the presidency. Nevertheless, people who knew Trump as a businessman knew that he was serious in believing that in New York, his backyard, that he would/could do anything to get what he wanted. He may not have wanted the presidency, but he got it and it has been a downhill ride for Mr. Trump with one scandal/controversy after another. So, it should come as no surprise that now President Trump is trying to pull off a “5th Avenue” with the U.S. Postal Service. Republicans and the president would like nothing better than for the Postal Service to be non-existent because barring a miracle, mail in voting will be the best and most secure way for millions of voters to cast their ballots without the fear of dying. It has worked very well in the past as a reliable method of voting and there shouldn’t be any reservations about the security and safety of an election going wrong. However, President Trump doesn’t want to listen to anyone telling him any differently because he is daily putting out his message that the 2020 presidential election will be rigged. Never mind any evidence from the president that he is right and compounded by the fact that hardly a Republican anywhere in this nation will say that the president is wrong, will lead to his supporters being up in arms if he loses. And that is what the president wants. Mr. Trump knows that if he loses, he may face prison. In addition, he may lose his billionaire status from paying off those very high-priced attorneys that he will need for his continuing legal bills.

It is the president’s assault on the Postal Service that has some (not enough) people angry and upset that he will use a governmental agency that is as old as the nation, to do his bidding. Everyone knows that the Postal Service is in dire financial straits, losing billions yearly with no help from Congress. Now that the president has installed a wealthy campaign donor as Postmaster General, it didn’t take long for the Postal Service to take a nose dive in terms of mail delivery and other services. Thousands of postal workers are complaining about mail being left in post offices instead of being delivered, overtime is cut and now mail drop boxes are starting to be removed from the streets. When was the last time mail boxes were removed in a presidential election year where the incumbent put his handpicked person to, some would say, sabotage the mail system? Isn’t that a federal crime? The question is asked because the president openly said that he is blocking COVID-19 funding to the Postal Service to help defray the cost of a tremendous mail in ballot campaign, (because of health threats) knowing that his chances of reelection would be further weakened. The president has admitted his reason as to why he won’t budge. He is in fear that he will lose. It doesn’t matter that Democrats can pass a bill in the House, it is Republicans in the Senate who won’t do the same, for fear of a president if he wins.

Democrats in the House see what the president is doing, as hearings are scheduled; the Postmaster General will have tough questions to answer, but probably not from Republicans. With the Postal Service under the president’s control, there is not much left he can throw against the wall in hopes that something will stick. There are still protests in some segments of the nation against police brutality, but not enough for the president to send in federal troops as he did in Oregon. There won’t be a convention for him to give his re-nomination speech, depriving him of his thousands of cheering supporters on television, the very medium that made him famous. The president made a fortune in the casino/gambling business and now it seems with the walls closing in as Joe Biden has someone who can go toe-toe with VP Mike Pence in Kamala Harris. The president appears to be laying it all on the table. If this had been a Democrat in the White House pulling the tactics as the president, Republicans would be falling all over themselves in howls of righteous indignation defending the office, the flag and the Constitution. But, if the Trump liner is going down, Republicans have shown that they rather choose party over country. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.