During a Friday afternoon media briefing, Trump stated that he would provide the full $25 billion for the US Postal Service Democrats have requested to prepare for the upcoming election, but only if Democrats acquiesce to his other demands.
Trump listed a number of things he demands–including money to reopen schools and fund business loans–for the money to be released to fund postal workers.
Trump was visibly unsteady, at least twice having to repeat what he read in a prepared statement, re-reading the statements word-for-word after saying “Put another way….”
Trump also claimed he’s prepared to provide checks of $3,400 for each family of four, but “Democrats are holding it up.” In fact, the Democratic-led House has passed such an aid payment in the coronavirus relief bill in May; the relief bill was stonewalled in the republican-led Senate.
In other statements:
- Trump opened by saying the guilty plea of Kevin Clinesmith was evidence of “bad things” and “spying” on his campaign by the “corrupt” James Comey-led FBI. In fact, Clinesmith pleaded guilty to altering a FISA renewal request for Carter Page in 2017, after the campaign had ended and about a year after Page had left the campaign.
- Trump bragged that factory output was up 5.7% in July, with projects at 3.8% in August, which Trump claimed would be “another record.” In fact, according to the Federal Reserve, industrial output (a separate economic measure) was up 5.7% in June and 3% in July. Factory output rose 3.4% in July.
- Trump said that he is blocking Democratic coronavirus aid proposals because Democratic leaders want to give a trillion dollars to “their friends” in blue states and cities that are corrupt. In fact, the aid would be to help cash-strapped state and local governments for all states.
- Trump maintained he congratulated Marjorie Taylor Greene, the winner of the republican primary run off in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, because she “won big” in a “very important state.” Trump overtly avoided answering a question asking if his congratulations meant that he endorsed the QAnon theories promoted by Greene.
- Trump ended the briefing by addressing a question from a OANN plant regarding a peace deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. Trump somehow switched to commenting on the multinational Iran nuclear pact, but came back to state that Joe Biden was trying to take credit for it, and asserting “[Biden] doesn’t even know where this countries are” before abruptly walking off the stage.