Editorial: Trump tweet (again) raises needless alarm

Donald Trump too often behaves as a radio shock jock rather than the leader of the free world. 

He was at it again Thursday with this tweet: "With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???"

It was horribly irresponsible to post such a speculative message. It may have contributed to a tumble in stock markets that were already jittery because of a dismal second quarter GDP report and a disappointing unemployment report.

And it added fuel to the wild-hare conspiracy theory gaining steam on the Left that Trump won’t leave office if defeated in November.

Such self-inflicted wounds have been a hallmark of Trump’s tenure. 

This one distracts from a legitimate concern. An unprecedented large mail-in vote is expected for the fall election, due to COVID-19 fears and changes in state laws in places like Michigan to make such balloting easier.

The opportunity for fraud should be addressed. But a greater worry is that counting mailed ballots will overwhelm the election infrastructure. 

Rather than stoking alarmist fires, however, the president should be working with states to make sure they have the resources and capabilities to manage an honest and efficient election.