“Seinfeld” character mailman Newman, played by Wayne Knight, has a message for President Donald Trump about mailing ballots in a funny video that has gone viral.
The clip was posted on YouTube by PACRONYM, a political action committee which says it is “running the largest digital effort to get Trump the f*ck out of office” on its website. The post was noted by Mashable in a piece published Friday.
The video opens with Knight on screen dressed as a postman while he stands next to a mailbox and tons of mail. (RELATED: Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Others Share Tributes To Jerry Stiller After His Death)
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“There’s been a systematic, premeditated assault on the U.S. mail by President Trump and his so-called postmaster general,” the actor in character as Newman explains. “That guy’s never even licked a stamp.” (RELATED: Jerry Seinfeld Says He ‘Never Adjusted’ Jerry Stiller’s ‘Perfect’ Performance As Frank Constanza)
“They’ve had the unmitigated gall to try to slow down the mail,” he adds in the video. “When everybody knows the only person who can slow down the mail is the mailman!”
Knight, performing as his “Seinfeld” character, continues by saying all mail is being slowed down, including mail-in ballots, prescription medicine and military benefits. At one point, he hilariously explains he’s not a “political person” and that the last election he voted in was for Baskin Robbins’ flavor of the month.
“If you want to vote early and in-person, do it,” the superstar continues, as Newman. “You want to vote from home? Apply for your ballot and get it in as soon as possible.” He then says in the ad that his brothers and sisters “in blue” will do their best to make sure everyone’s “ballot is delivered,” as he grabs a package, rips it open, takes out the food inside and eats it.
At the end, two guys take off with the mailbox. Knight, as Newman, looks right at the camera and says, “Alright Donnie, you know those tax returns? The ones you don’t want anyone seeing? You should never have mailed those.” In the classic Newman laugh, Knight starts chuckling and then choking on his cookies, before he gets himself under control.
The debate over mail-in voting — and over funding to the U.S. Postal Service — has become a bitter and mostly partisan fight as the coronavirus pandemic has forced a rapid, national, but ultimately partial transition to mail-in voting. Democrats have broadly supported a national vote-by-mail campaign, and introduced legislation ostensibly aimed at supporting the Postal Service.
President Donald Trump has characterized vote-by-mail as either a likely cause of fraud or disenfranchisement, and a number of states are already facing litigation due to reported and alleged problems with absentee and mail-in ballots.