LOS ANGELES –  Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) issued the following statement in response to Donald Trump’s ill-informed statement suggesting the possibility of an unlawful delay to the Nov. 3, 2020 presidential election:

“Apparently, there is a new edition of ‘White Populism for Dummies.’  This one reflects even greater ignorance of the United States Constitution than its predecessor.  Donald Trump has absolutely no authority to delay this November’s election, nor to extend the term of his failed presidency, which is the obvious intent of today’s ludicrous tweet.  The tweet should be read – and condemned –in tandem with last week’s equally unsupportable memorandum seeking to contradict the plain wording of the Constitution by discounting certain residents to zero-fifths of a person in reapportioning the House of Representatives.

“Today’s execrable tweet continues Trump’s previous tactic, honed back in early 2016,  of blaming non-existent ‘voter fraud’ for his failure to garner the support of most voters in the country.  The new edition of his playbook now seems to add a prescription to advocate delay in the election when you think you are going to lose the Electoral College vote.  The tweet, weighed down with so much hypocrisy as to approach William H. Taft’s physical dimensions, also attempts to draw a completely imaginary distinction between mail-in voting and absentee voting.

“Trump’s tweet represents a direct threat to our democracy.  It must be condemned universally and forcefully.  MALDEF commits to do everything it can to block this menace – delaying the election — to our great republic.”