# Trump is wasting taxpayer money sending superfluous letters to take credit for the stimulus payments **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 2, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012 "2020-05-02T03:55:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/1 "2020-05-02T03:55:00Z")
We already got the direct deposit weeks ago, but we still got this letter today: [https://twitter.com/slackerinc/status/1256426160768135169?s=21](https://twitter.com/slackerinc/status/1256426160768135169?s=21) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/2 "2020-05-02T04:07:30Z")
We got it today too, and my wife said the same thing. Envelope from the IRS/Treasury so, of course, you want to open it, but then the letter inside is campaign message on White House letterhead with Trump’s signature on the bottom. What a joke. What a waste. What a man-baby. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/3 "2020-05-02T04:10:45Z")
More short rant. Off we go. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/4 "2020-05-02T05:08:59Z")
Let your congressional representative know that you are dismayed by Trump’s use of government funding, stationery and mailing for campaign purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/5 "2020-05-02T05:17:53Z")
Mine got turned into confetti. Cross-cut shredder. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/6 "2020-05-02T05:20:26Z")
I got my check, but I haven’t received my propaganda letter yet, and hope I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Manlob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Manlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manlob)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/7 "2020-05-02T05:54:28Z")
Why don’t you send your check back with Trump’s note, explaining why you refuse to accept it? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/8 "2020-05-02T07:20:26Z")
Yes, I got my direct deposit about three weeks ago, and didn’t expect to get the letter. But a couple days ago, I got my love letter from Dear Donald. Hey, $1200 buys my vote! Don’s my Man! And if he gives me another $1200, I’ll vote for him twice! And if he gives me $1200 or better still $2000 every month until October, I’ll vote for him seven times! :smack: I saw a news item recently that several voting rights lawyers want this to be investigated as an illegal violation of the Hatch Act – Using government apparatus and tax money to do his re-election campaign activities. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/9 "2020-05-02T09:07:20Z")
Is such blatant campaigneering on the taxpayers’ time and dime even legal? And how many Americans are gullible or stupid enough to fall for it? “The generous stable genius sent me these moneys out of his own personal vast fortune. God bless his noble heart!” Well, I guess some Americans are so stupid: > [@Manlob](#): > > Why don’t you send your check back with Trump’s note, explaining why you refuse to accept it? ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/10 "2020-05-02T13:24:57Z")
> [@Manlob](#): > > Why don’t you send your check back with Trump’s note, explaining why you refuse to accept it? Send it back to whom? This money came from the US government. So, in the end, all of us who will pay taxes in the next 5 decades. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/11 "2020-05-02T13:29:38Z")
> [@Manlob](#): > > Why don’t you send your check back with Trump’s note, explaining why you refuse to accept it? The Pit thread is about the letter. Trump had nothing to do with the money. Anyone else know why someone with a join date of 2000 is acting like a dumb Trump troll? Do you know this guy? Because my first instinct is that the person who wrote that post is not the person who signed up for that account 20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/12 "2020-05-02T14:53:47Z")
I received my letter yesterday, after receiving the money on the 15th, so it took a half-month for the letter to be printed and travel to me. I know the mail’s not _that_ slow. When I turned it over to see if I could use it for scratch paper 😛 I was surprised to see the English letter on the front replicated in Spanish on the back, salutation to my fellow American, Trump’s indecipherable [del]seismograph[/del] signature, and all. Considering his esteem for Latinos, his endless capacity to think of people who are not white or English-speaking-only as equally American, I would have thought Trump’s signature would have erupted into flames when placed below a letter in Spanish. 😉 I had great satisfaction in tearing the letter into little pieces by hand before putting it in the recycling bin [del]alongside the other junk mail[/del] where it will do some good. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/13 "2020-05-02T14:56:36Z")
Members of Congress can mail for free within a certain budget , it’s called the franking privilege. They cannot use that for campaigns. Instead of postage it has their signature and MC where the stamp would be. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/14 "2020-05-02T15:03:18Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The Pit thread is about the letter. Trump had nothing to do with the money. This is why Trump wanted his signature on the check. He instinctively knows that morons like \*\*Manlob \*\*would think it came directly from Trump’s personal bank account. Because of course the US Treasury is now Trump’s personal checking account. > [@BigT](#): > > Anyone else know why someone with a join date of 2000 is acting like a dumb Trump troll? He’s not acting and Trump didn’t invent these fucking idiots. He emboldened and exposed them. > [@BigT](#): > > Do you know this guy? We all know [these guys](https://www.google.com/search?q=better+russian+than+democrat+image&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjm0rXEt5XpAhUkl3IEHW_5As0Q_AUoAXoECAsQAw&biw=1920&bih=937#imgrc=Om8kGAb70TTIuM). > [@BigT](#): > > Because my first instinct is that the person who wrote that post is not the person who signed up for that account 20 years ago. So you think that there are people hacking the SDMB for unused accounts just to post inane TrumpCult comments? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/15 "2020-05-02T15:10:28Z")
The paper is kind of soft, and since the stores are out of a lot of certain products, I’m hanging on to mine. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/16 "2020-05-02T15:33:35Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > So you think that there are people hacking the SDMB for unused accounts just to post inane TrumpCult comments? The board was hacked 6 years ago; usernames, email addresses, and passwords were harvested. _If_ this Trumpeteer was a victim, he’s playing a long game. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/17 "2020-05-02T15:37:22Z")
How much did this cost in postage? Dumbass can’t even keep his feuds straight. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/18 "2020-05-02T16:11:32Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I saw a news item recently that several voting rights lawyers want this to be investigated as an illegal violation of the Hatch Act – Using government apparatus and tax money to do his re-election campaign activities. > [@septimus](#): > > Is such blatant campaigneering on the taxpayers’ time and dime even legal? Okay, I found some links to the news item I saw a few days ago. These refer more particularly to the actual checks with his signature on them. [These lawyers say Trump’s name on stimulus checks might be a crime](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/these-lawyers-say-donald-j-trumps-name-should-not-be-on-stimulus-checks/2020/04/29/086ac1bc-88cc-11ea-9759-6d20ba0f2c0e_story.html), Joe Davidson, _Washington Post_, April 30, 2020. [Barr Should Appoint a Special Counsel to Investigate How Trump’s Signature Ended Up on Pandemic Checks, Letter Says](https://lawandcrime.com/covid-19-pandemic/lawyers-barr-needs-to-appoint-a-special-counsel-to-investigate-how-trumps-signature-ended-up-on-pandemic-checks/), Jerry Lambe, _[lawandcrime.com](http://lawandcrime.com)_, April 20, 2020. A former government attorney, a constitutional scholar, and a former presidential candidate ask Attorney General William Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate. (Fat chance that’s going to happen.) ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/19 "2020-05-02T16:33:05Z")
Meh. If this had happened while Obama was in office you’d have the letter framed and hung on your wall by now. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012/20 "2020-05-02T16:35:21Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Meh. If this had happened while Obama was in office you’d have the letter framed and hung on your wall by now. It wouldn’t have happened if Obama was in office. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-wasting-taxpayer-money-sending-superfluous-letters-to-take-credit-for-the-stimulus-payments/853012.md?page=2)