In a narcissistic move to stroke his own ego and take credit for the stimulus package, President Donald Trump has ordered the Treasury Department to print his name on every relief check to millions of Americans, which will delay payments for weeks.
Americans across the country are desperate for money to pay their bills and survive as the shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic continues. Many were hoping to start receiving the checks soon, but that’s not going to happen now because of Trump’s vanity and desire to bribe Americans into voting for him in November using taxpayer money.
According to the Washington Post:
The unprecedented decision, finalized late Monday, means that when recipients open the $1,200 paper checks the IRS is scheduled to begin sending to 70 million Americans in coming days, ‘President Donald J. Trump’ will appear on the left side of the payment.
The decision to have the paper checks bear Trump’s name, in the works for weeks, according to a Treasury official, was announced early Tuesday to the IRS’s information technology team. The team, working from home, is now racing to implement a programming change that two senior officials said will probably lead to a delay in issuing the first batch of paper checks. They are scheduled to be sent Thursday to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service for printing and issuing.”
It’s tradition for a Treasury civil servant to sign the checks to avoid the appearance of partisanship, but Trump is breaking that policy.
Americans reacted by taking Trump to the woodshed on Twitter:
Trump’s latest act of performative authoritarianism is trivial–yet, as I argue here, alarming.
“The Treasury Department has ordered President Trump’s name be printed on stimulus checks…a process that is expected to slow their delivery by several days.”https://t.co/sKZllriuPA— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) April 15, 2020
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If he’s going to put his name on stimulus checks, then his name also belongs on every death certificate that resulted from his 70-day delay in taking action. https://t.co/iX07X0cByT
— Chris Lu (@ChrisLu44) April 15, 2020
Apart from inexcusably slowing the checks, this display of ego is a reminder to all of us that the one and only thing Donald J. Trump cares about is . . . Donald J. Trump. https://t.co/5qgrXRH2GJ
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) April 15, 2020
He takes the fucking cake: “#KingTrump’s name will appear on millions of stimulus checks, a break in protocol that he suggested to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.”
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) April 15, 2020
A delay of even 1 day in stimulus checks is too much, but especially just to flatter 45’s vanity & give him political advantage. Hold him accountable. #Vote4Biden https://t.co/FCVk56rfZ2
— Jill Wine-Banks (@JillWineBanks) April 15, 2020
17 million people have lost their jobs.
Millions can’t pay rent, afford food, and are sinking into debt.
And the president is delaying relief for them so he can see his name on a check.
Trump first, America second.https://t.co/zEcta20fTH
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 15, 2020
Trump’s insistence that his name be on relief checks is expected to slow their delivery by several days.
There are so many people in the country living on the margins right now, and this man’s ego is, once again, going to cause more needless suffering. https://t.co/cl2NfEFpHa
— Colin Kahl (@ColinKahl) April 15, 2020
A Secretary of the @USTreasury who permits this is a dangerous sycophant. This is using government as a propaganda tool. I would have resigned over the issue.https://t.co/PmMLrDwEoA
— Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) April 15, 2020
BREAKING: President Trump is ordering the Treasury to print his signature on all the stimulus checks which will cause them to be delayed by weeks.
What a sad little man!
— Travis Allen 🇺🇸 (@TravisAllen02) April 15, 2020
Trump’s North Star in decisions:”Me, Me, Me, Me, Me, Me.””What will it do for me?””How will it make me look?””How will I benefit financially, politically, optically?”
His quests for self-aggrandizement & personal enrichment are proving lethal to Americans https://t.co/iMEde5OtUW
— Samantha Power (@SamanthaJPower) April 15, 2020
Naturally Trump the narcissist wants people to think he’s giving them the $1200 personally, a deal that Democrats negotiated for them… so he pretends to sign the checks. https://t.co/IIswV9jkSY
— Barbra Streisand (@BarbraStreisand) April 15, 2020
Loathsome.
Even if this doesn’t end up delaying the checks to desperate Americans, it is a despicably petty nod to Trump’s narcissism and an ominous step toward authoritarianism.
He is intentionally blurring the line between himself and the state. https://t.co/3lgu8rTJLX
— Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) April 15, 2020
Americans need this money now, but they will have to wait even longer for it because Trump can’t stand not having his name on everything and wants the people to think he’s the one who gave them their own money. Don’t fall for it.
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons
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