Burnett. Kneecap the Postal Service to win election. Serious accusation from former president barack obama aimed at president donald trump. What weve seen in a way that is unique to modern political history is a president whos explicitly trying to discourage people from voting. What weve never seen before is a president say, im going to try to actively kneecap the Postal Service to encourage voting, and i will be explicit about the reason im doing it. This comes as the Postal Service tonight is reportedly warning 46 states that mailin ballots may not be returned in time to count for the election because of lags in mail delivery. Why a lag . Because the Postal Service is starved for cash at a time when demand for mailin ballots has never been higher. All the while, President Trumps hand picked postmaster general, a campaign donor, is behind a major restructuring of the agency that includes cuts to hours, banning trips to deliver mail on time, and removing high volume Mail Processing machines across the country. All of these moves will very likely lead to even more log jams, something the postmaster general admitted, saying, unfortunately this Transformative Initiative has had unintended consequences that impacted our service level. The president today says hell continue to oppose 25 billion in funding for the Postal Service unless democrats give in to his demands. Would you be willing to accept the 25 billion for the Postal Service including the 3. 5 billion. Its not what i want. Its what the American People want. Would you sign off on the money for the Postal Service . Theyre not giving it to me. Theyre giving it to the American People. You would agree with that . I would certainly do that, sure. It seems more than clear now. He has no desire to allow this to happen because he said the quiet part out loud yesterday. They need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots. If they dont get those two items, that means you cant have universal mailin voting because theyre not equipped to vitt. Theres no way to know for sure if one party benefits more than the other, but its Crystal Clear one party is more willing to consider it. A new poll found that 72 of democratic voters were very or somewhat likely to vote my bail compared to 65 of republicans who said they were not at all likely to do so. It seems clear what the president s doing, trying to use the Postal Service to his advantage in the election. Jessica schneider is outfront. Jessica, is the message from the president honestly that he would rather have people risk their health in the middle of a pandemic to vote rather than allow mailin ballots that he believes will hurt his chances . Reporter kate, the president has been persistent in this message that he does not want widespread mailin balloting despite the fact this pandemic has caused a lot of concern for Many Americans about actually going to polls. So, tonight, while the president continues to push this false claim about widespread voter fraud and also points to possible problems at the postoffice, well, his and first lady melania trumps mailin ballots, theyre getting ready to go. When florida holds its primary election on tuesday, President Trump and the first lady will be voting by mail. The couple requesting ballots as President Trump has repeatedly claimed wide n voting leads to widespread voter fraud. It will end up being fraudulent because if you look at whats happened over the last few weeks, look at the few instances where this has happened. Its turned out to be fraudulent. Reporter cnns Fact Checking team has debunked that claim. More states are using mailin ballots. New jersey is just the latest state. That makes nine states plus washington, d. C. That will now give all voters the option to vote by mail and most have inperson voting known as a hybrid model. Everybody gets a ballot. We have a hybrid model in november. Some voters say they are increasingly confused by election information theyre receiving in the mail. In d. C. , there were erroneous instructions, and in New Hampshire and virginia, the mailers contained errors in the return address. In pennsylvania, republicans are racing toward a friday night deadline to turnover evidence that proving their claims of mailin voter fraud in the states primaries. It will be a Pivotal Point in a battleground state. The Trump Campaign has sued for changes to the mailin ballot. Now a judge is making them prove there are problems. Democrats said republicans should not be allowed to make such claims in this national climate. This is the fight over funding at the u. S. Postal service continues with a new letter obtained from cnn showing the trump appointee and long time republican donor acknowledging the recent changes have had unintended consequences but says the cuts are necessary since the Financial Condition is dire. People have to go to the polls have vote like the old days. Cnn has learned that the president met with the postmaster last week at the height of funding talks as he opposed widespread vote by mail. President trump is lying about vote by mail. He is lying about mail ballots. Colorado has a clean history of oning great elections with vote by mail. The internal watchdog for the Postal Service is reviewing recent changes by the postmaster general lewis dejoy also looking into whether dejoy followed the ethics rules. 10 page letter demanding answers. But kate, dejoy has denied that all these changes would disrupt service, instead saying that these cuts are necessary because of the Financial Condition that the usps is in. Thanks for that. Appreciate it. Outfront now, the democratic secretary of state of vermont, thanks so much for being here. The Washington Post is reporting that 46 states got letters from the Postal Service that they might not be able to deliver ballots in time. Have you received one of these letters . To my knowledge, we have not received the letter from the postmaster general at this point. I guess it could still be in the mail. I guess and theres some joke there. What do you think of this warning though, secretary . 46 states. Its likely to be an issue for vermont as well if they think that theyre not going to be able to turn ballots get ballots back in time. What do you make of this warning . So, its very concerning. And weve been working with our postal liaison since probably midapril, and weve been meeting with her weekly. And weve been assured that election mail will be given a high priority. You know, weve followed all the regulations of the post office. Weve got the post office logo on there for election mail. Everything is really to the letter to meet the Postal Service needs as well. So, we just came off of a primary on tuesday this week, overwhelming primary that had an increase of close to 50 over our previous record. And probably 75 of that was vote by mail. We had stories coming from town clerks around vermont that talked about how the postmasters in the local post offices were calling them to tell them that they just received two or three more election ballot. And the town clerk would send someone down to pick those up. So, we feel pretty confident here in vermont. I am concerned about my colleagues across the country. Let me be clear, kate, this is not a red state blue state issue. This is about our democracy. The more voters that we have, it strengthens our democracy. Everything that weve laid out thats going on with the Postal Service and when you look at what the president has said that he is trying to do, do you think its Voter Suppression . Absolutely i do. I think this is blatant Voter Suppression, and i find it remarkable that we have a president of the United States who is in that position to push the voter fraud mantra. If you think about it, the real voter fraud in this country, the really true voter fraud is to deny any eligible american their constitutional right to vote. Thats why dismantling the post office is so dangerous to our democracy. Does knowing this, even with the plans in place, are you thinking of changing how youre going to run voting in the state come november . Do you need to come up with contingency plans . Are you nervous . Well, were going to look at all our options, and we will continue to adjust as necessary. I work with our legislature to have the authority to move quickly and nimbly in making some decisions that we normally wouldnt be able to do all because of covid. You know, you said it earlier that no american no voter should have to choose between their health and their right to vote. Its true. Thats just the honest to goodness truth. Mr. Secretary, thank you for your time. Outfront with me now cnn chief political analyst Gloria Borger and professor of law at new york university. Got almost 50 states now being warned mailin ballots may not be received in time to count. President trump is opposed to mailin ballots and holding up funds for the service. Are there any doubts at this point what is happening here . No, i think quite clearly when you look at, for example, what the secretary of state was saying and what the president is saying, this is nothing less than an effort to undermine democracy in this country. The president is on the one hand complaining about a rigged election. On the other hand, he seems to become complicit in trying to rig it. The president is telling people effectively, your ballots wont be counted. The post office cant do the job theyre supposed to do. The funding they need they are not getting. His hand picked postmaster general of all things decided to streamline and im using that in air quotes streamline the post office during a pandemic and right before an election. How silly is that . So, what you have is a system that is clearly under stress and a white house that is putting it under more stress as people want to figure out how they can vote in a safe way. And look, were hearing it heard from the secretary of state right there from vermont. You heard it from the secretary of state of colorado yesterday here on the program. Voter suppression. Do you see it that way when you look at the law there . Well, i think theres very little other way to read this. I mean, its very clear that mailin balloting and voting by mail does not increase voter fraud. So, the president s claims that this would increase fraud seems to fall on deaf ears. Instead, what youre left with is the two choices. Its either a situation where hes trying to prevent certain voters from going to the polls or alternatively set up a narrative that if he loses theres something me fanefariou work here. Gloria, president obama tweeted the Trump Administration is more concerned with suppressing the vote than suppressing the virus. He also talked about in a podcast as well, let me replay that for you. What weve seen in a way that is unique to modern political history is a president whos explicit trying to discourage people from voting, right . What weve never seen before is a president say, im going to try to actively kneecap the Postal Service to encourage voting, and i will be explicit about the reason im doing it. Did you ever think that we would be sitting here you would see a sitting president of the United States go to the lengths to prevent americans from voting in the election . You hear obama kind of laughing because it is pretty unbelievable how its playing out. It is. It is unbelievable. Its so unbelievable to hear a former president talk this way about a member of the president s club. Hes effectively saying this guy is trying to undermine this election, and hes the guy sitting in the oval office. And thats, you know, even though its an election year, its kind of striking to me to hear it from a former president. But given everything weve gone through with donald trump, in a way, perhaps, its not surprising. What is more surprising is that he cant get the message straight on this politically. I mean, on the one hand, he and his wife are going to vote absentee ballot, which is the same as, you know, voting by mail in the state of florida. And hes also saying, oh, by the way, some states are good. Like, if you want to vote by mail in florida, thats fine, but not other states that are run by democratic governors. People have to scratch their heads about that and say, wait a minute, what is the truth here, and what is he really trying to do . And understand that a lot of republicans are going to him and saying wait a minute, you may suppress democrats here if thats your goal, but youre also going to suppress some of your own voters. Thats part of the head scratching bit. It seems even republicans dont want to hold up funding for the Postal Service. I want to play for your Kevin Mccarthy this morning. The Postal Service will have the funding that it needs, and well make sure of that. We want to make sure we have an accurate election. I think any republican who gets a ballot in the mail should vote that and make sure their vote is counted. Thats what you want to hear. He says the funding is going to be there. Im scratching my head at how this is playing out. What do you want what questions do you have . What do you want to know now . Its very clear that voting by mail doesnt necessarily advantage either party. It just benefits democracy because more people are allowed to participate. The thing that i find striking here, it goes back to something that gloria just said, is this so unbelievable . Is really isnt for this particular president. This is a president who has never been orthodox or cared about the rules of how things have played out. And its not surprising that on an eve of an election where hes being pill ried for his terrible handling of a Global Health crisis, that hes now doubling down on the one situation, the post office, that could possibly facilitate voting in a safe way in an election hes likely to be unsuccessful in. Thank you both very much. Appreciate it. Outfront for us next, Jared Kushner is fanning the flames of what is a racist lie about Kamala Harris. Does the Trump Campaign accept that Kamala Harris is a qualified candidate . Look, at the end of the day its something thats out there. Why are republicans silent on this . Plus President Trump has a new person briefing him on coronavirus. Who is scott atlas and why is the controversial doctor in Task Force Meetings and the oval office . And Kamala Harris in her first interview since joining the democratic ticket. Joe biden had the audacity to choose a black woman to be his running mate. How incredible is that . Its time for the biggest sale of the year on the sleep number 360 smart bed. You can adjust your comfort on both sides. Your sleep number setting. Can it help me fall asleep faster . Yes, by gently warming your feet. But can it help keep me asleep . Absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. Will it help me keep up with mom . You got this. So you can really promise better sleep . Not promise. Prove. And now, all beds are on sale. Save 50 on the sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart bed. Plus 0 interest for 36 months on all smart beds. Ends monday. To learn more, go to sleepnumber. Com. Tonight the white house continuing to fuel the unfounded birther Conspiracy Theory about Kamala Harris. His words were, i dont know anything about that. Ill take him at his word that he said he doesnt know anything about that. Kamala harris is africanamerican, shes indianamerican, and shes a woman. So, youve got racist overtones. Youve got moj nistic overtones. Why would the president want to be associated with somebody who wrote that . So, again, i have so much respect for you, so ill answer this in the most polite way possible, which is the president was asked a president and he said he didnt know anything about it. Would you apologize for your candidate for him spreading that information. The president is about to do a press conference. Ill let the cnn reporters ask the president that. Jared kushner repeatedly claiming that the president didnt know anything about it. But here is fully what the president actually said. Say whether or not Kamala Harris is eligible meets the legal requirements to run as Vice President. So, i just heard that. I heard it today that she doesnt meet the requirements. And by the way, the lawyer that wrote that piece is a very highlyqualified, very talented lawyer. I have no idea if thats right. I would have assumed the democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for Vice President. And thats not exactly how kushner tried to spin it today. The president knows better. He could have said he didnt believe it. He says he doesnt believe a multitude of facts and reality on a daily basis. He knew what he was doing. Outfront now bah carrie sellers. You heard tkushner saying the president didnt know anything about it. Was that a wink wink nod way of hav