Campaigning with stimulus checks

It was unprecedented to have the president's name printed on the Treasury stimulus checks. Later, a follow-up notice was mailed for security reasons to those who received stimulus payments by check or direct deposit.

And in another unprecedented step, instead of the customary notice using a generic form letter from the Treasury Department, this letter indicates that it came from The White House, with the salutation "My Fellow American," signed by President Trump, touting his administration's efforts.

The envelope indicates that it came from the IRS, making it hard to ignore.

With this combination, Trump is effectively able to benefit from distributing an estimated $293 billion of taxpayer-provided stimulus, with postage and mailing costs paid by the IRS, to promote himself and his campaign.

Ironically, a major reason we even need this stimulus is because he failed to act and took deadly missteps in dealing with the potential pandemic, at least through February, while he continued to downplay the danger, even during crowded campaign rallies.

David J. Roberts

Skokie