Trump needs older voters on Nov. 3 鈥� but he's losing them
| New York
Many older Americans have turned away from President Donald Trump this year as the coronavirus ravages the country, eroding an important Republican support base that helped propel him into the White House in 2016, polling data shows.
Mr. Trump and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden now split American voters aged 55 years and older almost evenly: 47% say they are voting for Mr. Biden on Nov. 3 while 46% back Mr. Trump, according to Reuters/Ipsos national surveys in September and October.
That could be an alarming sign for the president, who trails Mr. Biden with 25 days to go before the election.
Republicans have relied on the support of older Americans in national elections for years, routinely benefiting from a demographic that consistently shows up in force on Election Day.
Mr. Trump won the 55-plus age group by 13 percentage points in 2016, according to exit polls. Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, achieved the same margin.
Reuters/Ipsos state polls also show Mr. Biden outperforming Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, among older voters in a handful of battleground states, where seniors make up an outsized proportion of the electorate.
Winning those states will be critical to the outcome of the 2020 race: whoever takes the most battleground states will be on track to win the Electoral College and the White House.
Mr. Biden is beating Mr. Trump among older voters in Wisconsin by 10 points and drawing about the same amount of support as Mr. Trump is with that demographic in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, and Arizona, according to the state polls conducted in mid-September and early October.
Four years ago, Mr. Trump won older voters in each of those states by 10 to 29 points.
Half of the older voters in the five battleground states blamed the high number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country 鈥� nearly 7.6 million cases and more than 210,000 deaths 鈥� on 鈥減oor leadership and policy decisions from President Trump,鈥� the polls show.
Randy Bode, 59, a Republican in Douglas, Arizona, who voted for Trump in 2016, said he was disappointed with Mr. Trump鈥檚 suggestion that people could protect themselves from COVID-19 by drinking bleach.
鈥淗e shouldn鈥檛 be saying the things he鈥檚 saying鈥� about the coronavirus, he said.
Mr. Bode, who is now undecided, is also concerned about Mr. Trump鈥檚 efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and how that would leave millions of Americans without health insurance during a health crisis.
鈥淗e鈥檚 had four years to come up with a plan, and he hasn鈥檛 done it,鈥� he said.
A deteriorating base
Mr. Trump鈥檚 standing with older Americans has deteriorated this year as the novel coronavirus swept the country, closing thousands of businesses and overwhelming the health care system that seniors rely on more than others.
Sixty-one percent said this week in a national Reuters/Ipsos poll that they disapprove of the president鈥檚 handling of the coronavirus, up 12 percentage points from May. And Mr. Trump鈥檚 net approval for his response to the virus dropped among all Americans to its lowest level since Reuters started asking the question in early March.
Among older Americans, 83% were concerned about the threat that the coronavirus poses to their personal health and safety.
鈥淪eniors were much more worried about COVID than younger Americans,鈥� said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist whose firm has spotted a similar trend in its polling data.
Mr. Trump鈥檚 campaign has been working to stop the bleeding, and last weekend he dispatched Vice President Mike Pence to campaign at The Villages, the conservative retirement community in central Florida.
On Thursday, while still convalescing at the White House from his recent coronavirus infection, the president addressed America鈥檚 seniors in a video, calling them his 鈥渇avorite people in the world鈥� and pledging to make new virus-fighting drugs available to them for free.
鈥淵ou are vulnerable and so am I,鈥� Mr. Trump said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to take care of our seniors.鈥�
The Trump campaign pointed to an executive order he signed last year aimed at bolstering Medicare, the national insurance program for Americans 65 and older.
鈥淧resident Trump and his administration remain laser-focused on protecting our most vulnerable citizens, including our nation鈥檚 senior citizens,鈥� said Ken Farnaso, a Trump campaign spokesman.
Mr. Biden is also pitching directly to older voters, particularly in Arizona and Florida.
His campaign has been running ads featuring a Florida couple who can鈥檛 see their grandchildren because of the pandemic. Other ads have focused on Mr. Trump鈥檚 threat to eliminate the payroll tax, which funds Social Security.
Mr. Conant said Mr. Trump needs to figure out how to bring seniors back into the fold 鈥� and fast.
鈥淚t鈥檚 crucial,鈥� he said. 鈥淭rump will not win without strong support from senior voters.鈥�
This story was reported by Reuters.
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