The popular American singer, songwriter and producer, Taylor Swift, tweeted a statement of blistering criticism at US President Donald Trump, accusing him of attempting to rig the upcoming presidential election by a "calculated dismantling of USPS".
"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", she tweeted.
Swift accused Trump of "ineffective leadership" and of "gravely worsening" the "crisis that we are in", urging people to request mail-in ballots and to vote early.
Her tweets come after the US Postal Services warned some state election officials of potential problems with mail-in balloting because of new delivery policies, financial troubles and the ongoing affect of the coronavirus pandemic. Swift's statement echoed USPS calls for early submission of voting ballots, with the postal service advising Americans to send in their ballots at least a week before state deadlines.
Earlier, Trump refused to provide funding for USPS in the coronavirus relief deal, admitting that he held up money for the postal service amid fear that the funds would be used to boost mail-voting, which he opposes, suggesting that it might lead to election fraud.
"Now, they need that money in order to make the Post Office work, so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots", Trump asserted in an interview with Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo. "That's election money basically. If they don't get those two items, that means you can't have universal mail-in voting".
The president has faced sharp criticism from the Democrats and some Republicans over his opposition to voting by mail, which is considered a safer option for people to vote on US presidential election, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Some have claimed that the president is committing a crime by attempting to withhold the money from USPS, including Representative Eric Swalwell of California and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who is officially in charge of Arizona elections.