Cher protests USPS cuts: 'Hey Senate! Snap out of it'
Cher struck out when she tried to volunteer at her local post office — one supervisor told the Oscar winner she’d need a background check and fingerprinting — but that hasn’t stopped her from speaking out for the United States Postal Service (USPS).
On Saturday, the singer and actress, who has been decrying changes to the USPS under Trump-appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, joined other concerned citizens for “Save the Post Office Saturday,” a protest demanding DeJoy’s resignation over cuts and the removal of mail sorting machines and collection boxes nationwide.
As for a protest sign slogan, the star needed only turn to one of her best-known films for inspiration.
Trump’s attacks💥 on the @USPS are designed to undermine the 2020 presidential election 🗳 It’s up to us to show up & fight to #SaveThePostOffice Join us to https://t.co/1YsiTBNv3u pic.twitter.com/Gr5SjX247t
— Cher (@cher) August 22, 2020
“Hey Senate! Snap out of it,” read Cher’s sign, a nod to the oft-quoted line she says to a besotted, freshly slapped Nicolas Cage in the 1987 rom-com Moonstruck. The sign also referenced doubt that the Senate will sign off on new legislation to provide $25 billion in funds to the USPS and halt operational changes, which the House approved on Saturday.
Photos posted by the music legend show her wearing a mask and oversized hat during the demonstration. Cher had earlier urged Twitter followers to take part in the event to “show [postal workers] our gratitude for risking their lives to deliver medicine for grandmas, vets, toddlers who couldn’t live without it” and take a stand against “Trump’s new henchman.”
“Most of all to show Trump he can’t take our postal service,” she added, noting concerns that the recent cuts are intended to sabotage the reliability of using mail-in ballots ahead of the 2020 election.
Take ACTION in support of postal workers, 39% are people of color, 40% are women, and 16% are military members and veterans, many of whom have lost a substantial portion of their income due to DeJoy's service cuts. https://t.co/lrMNRvXzz2 #SaveThePostOffice #WeWillDeliver pic.twitter.com/pg4YS5b2A1
— Cher (@cher) August 22, 2020
But the 74-year-old later lamented a lack of turnout, saying she was “disappointed in [the] number who showed up” and calling out “no-shows” at the post office in Malibu, Calif.
“This is about [the] future of America,” she tweeted. “It’s difference between your children growing up in a democracy or dictatorship.”
I was Disappointed in Number
Who Showed up,BUT THESE
WERE GREAT PPL.WE WERE
FIGHTING FOR OUR DEMOCRACY??ONE LOVELY YOUNG GIRL COULDNT TALK TO HER MOM BECAUSE SHE IS A TRUMPIAN. I TOLD HER SHE HAS MY SYMPATHY.THOUGHT ABOUT
REPUBLICAN HUSBAND 🤮— Cher (@cher) August 22, 2020
DISAPPOINTED IN MALIBU NO SHOWS,AT POST OFFICE RALLY.11 NEXT SAT.??THIS IS ABOUT FUTIRE OF AMERICA🇺🇸. ITS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UR CHILDREN GROWING UP IN A DEMOCRACY,OR DICTATORSHIP??IF trump GETS 2nd TERM,PUTIN WILL TEACH trump SOME NIFTY TRICKS 4 THOSE WHO DONT AGGREE WITH HIM?
— Cher (@cher) August 23, 2020
The star’s next political move will undoubtedly get more attention: She’s headlining a virtual LGBTQ fundraiser for Democrat candidate Joe Biden on Aug. 31.
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