All across the U.S., citizens are hoping for a second stimulus check sometime soon, and President Donald Trump is now saying that he is “ready to send” payments of $3,400 to American families of 4. Trump made the statement in a new tweet, adding that he has already instructed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to “get ready to send” the money. He concluded the tweet by saying that this is not possible, however, due to Democrat leaders “holding” it up.
Trump followed this up with two other tweets lambasting Democrats, first writing, “I am ready to have
[US Treasury] and [SBA] send additional PPP payments to small businesses that have been hurt by the ChinaVirus. DEMOCRATS ARE HOLDING THIS UP!” Notably, Trump referred to the coronaviras as “China Virus” in this post, something he has continued to do amid outcry from many that it is racist rhetoric. In his final tweet, Trump wrote, “I am ready to send more money to States and Local governments to save jobs for Police, Fire Fighters, First Responders, and Teachers. DEMOCRATS ARE HOLDING THIS UP!”
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I have directed @stevenmnuchin1 to get ready to send direct payments ($3,400 for family of four) to all Americans. DEMOCRATS ARE HOLDING THIS UP!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2020
This is not the first time this week that Trump has claimed the Democrats are responsible for holding up the next stimulus bill. During an interview on Fox Business Network’s Morning with Maria, Trump made similar comments. “It’s their fault. They want $3.5 billion for something that’s fraudulent. For the mail-in votes, universal mail-in ballots,” he said, laying the fault on the mail-in ballot measure, which he opposes.
“They want $25 billion for the post office,” Trump continued. “They need that money so it can work and they can take these millions and millions of ballots. […] But if they don’t get those two items, then they can’t have mail-in ballots.” Trump then said something that has garnered a lot of notice over the past two days. “If we don’t make a deal, that means they won’t get the money and they won’t have universal mail-in voting,” he said, indicating that it is actually the White House refusing to make a deal, based on Trump’s fight against universal mail-ballots.
Coincidentally, Trump will actually be voting by mail-in ballot. It was recently reported that he is voting in the Florida primary, where he claims residence, and is using a mail-in ballot to cast his vote. First Lady Melania Trump will also be voting this way.
