President Donald Trump will not include support for coronavirus support that includes provisions for “voting rights” supported by Democrats, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Thursday.
“So many of the Democratic issues are really liberal, leftist wish lists – voting rights and help to strangers and so on,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” when asked about the administration’s halted talks with Democratic leaders .
“That is not our game, and the President cannot accept that kind of deal,” the director of the National Economic Council continued. “So, we’ll wait and see the negotiations. Secretary of the Treasury [Steven] Mnuchin is working on it, but so far it has been a nuisance. “
It is unclear what provisions have to do with voting rights, a touchstone of American democracy, Kudlow finds that a priority is only for Democrats. A White House spokesman did not immediately identify the specific voting plans that Kudlow criticized.
His remarks sparked growing fears that Trump will step up efforts to make it easier for Americans to vote on his re-election during the coronavirus pandemic. The president has thwarted attempts to put $ 25 billion into a money-shrinking U.S. Postal Service to ensure smooth post-voting in a year when casting personal votes is dangerous because of the virus.
Trump has also opposed Democratic plans to give states $ 3.6 billion to promote electoral security and send votes through the once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. A Republican bill pandemic bill passed last month did not include additional money for elections over $ 400 million in emergency funds approved earlier this year.
The president has repeatedly made unfounded claims that post-in ballots are not safe and ripe for fraud. He suggested Thursday morning that he oppose USPS funding because the money would promote voting rights by mail.
“Now they need that money to run the post office so it can take all those millions and millions of ballots,” Trump told Fox Business Network. “But if they don’t get those two items, that means you can not have universal mail-in-voice because they are not equipped to have it.”
The president has voted by mail in Florida. He also recently specifically promoted the use of post-in voting in that swing state.
Democrats have also warned that changes made to USPS following the appointment of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, an ally and donor of Trump, would jeopardize the timely and accurate counting of post-in votes.
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., Quickly criticized Kudlow’s remarks in a Thursday tweet.
“We knew the GOP was against voting rights, but this is unmistakable,” he wrote.
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