Donald Trump is mailing it in

| 2:00 pm EDT May 2, 2020
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When the stimulus checks under the CARES Act were being processed last month, Donald Trump literally stopped the presses so that his name could be added to them. Not only was this extra step wholly unnecessary and wildly inappropriate, but it threatened to further delay getting the needed aid into the accounts of Americans facing severe economic distress. If you thought this example proved that Trump’s narcissism knows no bounds, just wait till you hear what he has done now.

Rather than leave shameful enough alone, Trump outdid himself in his desperate campaign to force voters to associate his name with their stimulus money. If you are among the majority of Americans who received a stimulus, whether by check or direct deposit, you should now expect a pointless letter about it within the next few days—from Trump.

The one-page letter, written in English and Spanish, begins with the boldfaced subject line “Your Economic Impact Payment Has Arrived,” which is an announcement that should hardly come as news to any recipient. The letter mostly rambles on about how great everything is, from the country and its citizens to the government’s response, promising that we will “rise to new heights of greatness.” Between the man-child’s use of the first person and his oversized Sharpie signature, recipients who don’t know any better will likely deduce that Trump must be the one to thank for their financial relief.

Not only is Trump’s letter a colossal waste of paper and postage, but it was sent through the U.S. Postal Service — the very agency he has loudly trashed and threatened to defund recently. Apparently, Trump is making peace with the USPS’s continued existence so long as it proves itself capable of being manipulated into feeding his perverse hunger for self-aggrandizement.

As appalling as the letter is, the envelope is even worse because it has the potential to frighten many Americans. While the letter is written from Trump at “The White House, Washington,” the envelope suggests a serious mailing from the Internal Revenue Service in Austin, Texas. It is marked “Official Business” and cites “Notice 1444 (EN-SP),” which any reasonable recipient would assume is a specific IRS publication, which could induce fears of an audit. It turns out Notice 1444 is not a real IRS Notice at all, despite what the envelope implies, but just some number assigned to Trump’s letter.

Indeed, Trump never fails at devising new ways to remind us of the fact that his narcissism knows no bounds. No matter what affront Trump pulls off today, you can bet he’ll be back tomorrow to expose us to something that is somehow even more outrageous and offensive. One day of a Trump presidency often feels like an eternity of absurdity and corruption. Election Day may be only six months away, but it can’t come soon enough.