On Wednesday, President Donald Trump tweeted about Nevada and Michigan sending what he called illegal absentee ballots to registered voters, suggesting that he might be able to hold up funds to both states. Shortly after he made those posts, a former presidential speechwriter spoke out on Twitter about what he felt the president was doing with the tweets.
“Let’s frame this the right way: Donald Trump has threatened to harm the citizens of Nevada and Michigan because their elected officials are making it easier for them to vote,” tweeted political commentator Jon Favreau, who previously worked as former President Barack Obama’s director of speechwriting.
“And how many elected Republicans will defend the citizens of Michigan and Nevada from the President’s threat today? Rhetorical question, of course. Vote them all out.”
The Inquisitr reported that the president previously accused Nevada of sending out mail-in ballots as part of an effort to cheat or commit election fraud. Furthermore, Trump also tweeted something similar about Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, whom he called “rogue.” Several U.S. states allow absentee and mail-in voting, and many also plan to expand that option this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Before and after comparison of a dam failure in Michigan. (Edenville Dam on Wixom Lake). After image: Facebook from video by Ryan Kaleto. Before image: Google Earth. pic.twitter.com/I5MAo7sIAO
— Chris Dolce (@chrisdolcewx) May 19, 2020
The president’s tweets about withholding aid to Michigan may be a concern to some people who live in the state because of the catastrophic flooding it is experiencing right now.
CNBC reported that the Edenville Dam and the Sanford Dam failures had forced thousands of citizens to evacuate their homes. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmore declared a state of emergency, and she warned that downtown Midland could be under as much as nine feet of water soon. The evacuation efforts are more difficult due to the coronavirus crisis as evacuees are screened for COVID-19 symptoms when they arrive at shelters.
One Twitter user from Michigan replied to Favreau’s tweets, indicating how angry they are over Trump’s posts while Michigan struggles with the flooding catastrophe.
“Mid-Michigan, a large Trump voting area, is already in major trouble right now with the two confirmed dam failures (3rd unconfirmed). He is withholding aid to these people because the SOS will send absentee APPLICATIONS to every registered voter… this is insane.”
Favreau’s tweet received nearly 48,000 likes and 13,500 retweets, as well as hundreds of comments from individuals in both states. People from other states also expressed that they intend to vote by mail in the upcoming elections this year due to the pandemic. In addition, many pointed out that Trump also voted with an absentee ballot in Florida’s elections.