John Kerry Weighs in on the Postal Service Drama

JOHN KERRY, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, this is at the heart of our democracy, and I think there’s been just an incredible amount of bipartisan pushback on this. Veterans get their checks through the mail. People get their Social Security. People get medical documents. I mean, there are so many different links to this entity that was put into our constitution at the formation of our country, our first postmaster general, Benjamin Franklin. So, they’ve been messing with the heart of America, and I think it caught up to them here. The question now is will they really internally not continue to make certain moves, even as they sort of publicly move away from the things they announced? It is critical the Post Office get additional money, additional funding in order to be able to carry out this election in ways that will not be contested. And it is also obvious that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, has chosen to attack institution after institution, and he cares not one whit about the rule of law or the democratic process. He’s already adopted authoritarian pet leaders, and he is practicing some of their ways here at home. So, this is a very critical moment for America and for our election. It’s one step, but it is going to have to be greatly reinforced by congressional oversight.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: And just so everybody is clear, I’m sure everybody knows, but the postmaster general, DeJoy, was appointed by President Trump, and he’s saying to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I’m suspending initiatives until after the election. Retail hours will not change. Mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes will remain where they are. No mail processing facilities will be closed, and we reassert that overtime has and will continue to be approved. So, that’s where we are. Now, Secretary Kerry, you are speaking at the convention. You know what it’s like to have been a nominee. Just give me your overall thoughts about how this is going so far? Obviously, it’s all virtual. It’s not like when you were there with crowds and balloons and applause and all the rest of it.

KERRY: Well, you hope applause. It’s very different, obviously. But I thought it was a terrific night last night. Particularly I thought — I found moving, and I think a lot of people would agree, the young woman whose father died who said there are two Americans, the one that Donald Trump lives in, and then the one that my father died in. And it really underscores the gap in America today. I think she said the preexisting condition that her father had was a belief in what Donald Trump was telling them, that it was going to go away.