Trump threatens to cut Michigan from federal money over mail-in voting, as 10,000 in state flee breaking dams
UPDATE: He threatened Nevada, too.
Trump now threatening to punish the entire state of Michigan for the crime of sending out ballot applications to eligible voters.
Michigan is having a rough month. The coronavirus outbreak led to a state-wide lockdown, which armed protesters defied at the state capital. Last night, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for part of the state, after heavy rains broke two dams, displacing thousands of residents.
Now, Trump is threatening (on Twitter, yes of course) to cut off all federal funding for the state, because he doesn't want anyone mail-in-voting during a pandemic, you see.
He's falsely calling voting by mail voter fraud, because he believes anyone who votes against him in November is committing fraud. He's nuts.
Here was the president's tweet this morning:
Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!..
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called Michigan's plan to send mail-in voting applications to all voters in the state illegal, without citing a specific law, and threatened to withhold funding to the state.
This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!" Trump wrote in a tweet.
Trump addressed his tweet to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, his chief of staff, and the acting U.S. budget director.
Read more at reuters:
Trump threatens to cut off federal money for Michigan over mail-in voting
And more on the flooding at AP:
Thousands evacuated as river dams break in central Michigan
The water is still rising in Midland this morning. Stop signs (normally at least 5 ft tall) are nearly submerged. #miwx @Ginger_Zee pic.twitter.com/vo943TxThi
- Mallory Pearson (@MalloryPearson_) May 20, 2020
Due to the Michigan dam breaks, a Dow Chemical plant was evacuated, apart from essential personnel. The site is associated with a Superfund site.
https://t.co/AwVFDopNN8
- Zahra Hirji (@Zhirji28) May 20, 2020
My home town is about to be wiped out by a wall of water after two dams burst upstream. Friend tells me people are evacuating frantically. https://t.co/XbYsXyTIar
- Ian Kullgren (@IanKullgren) May 20, 2020
Rapidly rising water overtook dams and forced the evacuation of about 10,000 people in Michigan, where flooding struck communities along rain-swollen waterways and the governor said one downtown could be under approximately 9 feet of water" by Wednesday. https://t.co/UGEuFiIxTS
- KAMR Local 4 News (@KAMRLocal4News) May 20, 2020