Despite all his criticisms about voting by mail, Donald Trump is going to make sure he votes, requesting an absentee ballot for Florida’s primary election on August 18, the Palm Beach Post reports.
For the second time as residents of Florida, both Trump and First Lady Melania Trump requested the ballots, coming close to the Saturday deadline to request the voting document. The ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted.
And all of this is happening while Trump has continued his attacks on the USPS and vote by mail.
As recently as Thursday, Trump appeared on Fox Business Network, admitting that withholding relief money that Democrats are seeking for the postal service would disrupt mail-in voting.
“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. “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.”
“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, they just can’t have it,” he added. So, you know, sort of a crazy thing. Very interesting.”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere told NBC News in an e-mail that the President has issues with universal mail-in voting, not absentee voting, which Deere said “contain several safeguards that prevent fraud and abuse.”