Taylor Swift pulled no punches in her latest criticism of President Donald Trump. The singer posted about the recent cutbacks at the U.S. Postal Service, siding with the many analysts and experts who say it is an outright attempt to suppress voters in the 2020 presidential election. Swift urged her fans to get their votes in as early as possible.
“Trump’s calculated dismantling of USPS proves one thing clearly: He is WELL AWARE that we do not want him as our president. He’s chosen to blatantly cheat and put millions of Americans’ lives at risk in an effort to hold on to power,” Swift tweeted. “Donald Trump’s ineffective leadership gravely worsened the crisis that we are in and he is now taking advantage of it to subvert and destroy our right to vote and vote safely. Request a ballot early. Vote early.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Donald Trump’s ineffective leadership gravely worsened the crisis that we are in and he is now taking advantage of it to subvert and destroy our right to vote and vote safely. Request a ballot early. Vote early.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) August 15, 2020
Many fans praised Swift for speaking out, as the singer has become more and more politically active in recent months. Others questioned whether Swift’s suggestion was the best course of action, with some saying they intended to vote in person rather than risk their vote being delayed in the mail.
The USPS has been taking over the headlines recently, since the agency warned state leaders that they could not guarantee that mail-in ballots would arrive in time to be counted towards the 2020 presidential election. This comes after Trump has railed against mail-in voting as insecure, despite the arguments of election experts to the contrary.
Trump appointed a new Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy back in June. Before that, DeJoy was a tech businssman and a big donor to Trump’s campaign, leading many believe that DeJoy is pursuing the goal of getting Trump re-elected despite the implied impartiality of his new job.
This week, CNN reported that the USPS was removing letter collection boxes from at least 16 states. After the news broke, a spokesperson for the USPS’ Western region told the outlet that the removal of mailboxes would stop at once. However, another spokesperson at the agency’s national headquarters could not confirm this news.
Everyone from lawmakers to journalists to organizers have called this an outright act of voter suppression, as the Trump administration rails against states for pivoting to mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic. Many political analysts suggest that mail-in voting could result in a greater voter turnout overall, which could negatively impact Trump in the election itself.
