Clearly Trump is electioneering for his Fox News base, but concerns with a universal mail-in election are not unfounded. Just look at the New York primaries: weeks later, ballots are still being counted and legal challenges are mounting. The New York Times even dubbed it a ‘botched’ election, with results still up in the air after six weeks. That’s in contrast to the Wisconsin primary, where the governor moved ahead with in-person voting with social distancing and CDC safety guidelines: there have been no surges in COVID cases as a result. The Daily Beast hysterically called it ‘Wisconsin’s Terrifying Election Day’.
The squawking over Trump singlehandedly ordering the removal mailboxes and trucks in New Jersey, California, Oregon and Washington (you know, election swing states!) comes on the heels of a week-long media hyperventilation about the dastardly QAnon conspiracy. Despite this, reporters went all in promoting rumors of a malevolent scheme to remove mail-trucks and boxes in broad daylight. Maybe we really don’t get irony here.
Is it really the spread of misinformation that matters — or is it who gets to be in control of it?
