No Democratic presidential candidate has won the leading vote in two decades.
But former Vice President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) hope to break that losing streak this year.
Fox News learned that the DNC will launch a new push on Friday for court voters over 65 with a new television commercial in the main battlegrounds of the general election, a national press conference, substitute calls. , fact sheets and more. The push appears to be the latest example of the rapidly growing role of the party’s national committee, and in particular the DNC’s War Room, in collaborative efforts with the Biden campaign.
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The announcement, which the DNC says is backed by “a significant six-figure purchase,” points to President Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which since February has claimed the lives of approximately 137,000 people in the US. it skyrocketed in the last month and a half, forcing many states to pause or reverse the loosening of restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.
Those most affected by the coronavirus are older people. “Among adults, the risk of serious disease from COVID-19 increases with age, with older adults at higher risk,” state the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The narrator in the DNC commercial, which was first shared with Fox News, claims that “when the coronavirus arrived, Donald Trump refused to listen to experts.” He said it would disappear. It did not. Tens of thousands of older Americans killed. “
Then Trump rushed to reopen America to aid his own reelection. The cases exploded. The death toll increases. Hitting older Americans is the hardest thing. Trump throws the United States at the wolves, ”the announcement concludes, using charts showing the increase in new cases and the increase in the number of deaths.
The announcement continues the lines of attack on the president by Biden, his campaign, and allied super PACs, who have repeatedly criticized Trump for what they claim was an initial downplaying of the severity of the pandemic, a blunder on the response. and a push to loosen restrictions prematurely to boost an economy flattened by the outbreak.
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Rejecting the criticism, the president, his administration, and his reelection campaign have repeatedly touted the federal government’s response to the pandemic.
In a Friday interview on Fox News “Hannity,” the president stated, “We are doing a great job” in fighting the pandemic.
But public opinion polls indicate that most Americans disapprove of the work Trump is doing to direct the federal response to the coronavirus. Only 35 percent of registered voters approved the president on how he is handling the crisis in a new national poll by Quinnipiac University.
That same poll indicated that Biden outpointed Trump 54-40 percent among voters 65 and older. If those numbers hold up in the November general election, it would be a dramatic change from 2016. Then-Republican candidate Trump outpointed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by 52 to 45 percent among older adults in the presidential election, according to the exit polls.
Polls across the board have seemingly rocked the Trump campaign, with Brad Parscale abruptly replaced as campaign manager. In announcing the move, Trump expressed confidence in repeating his 2016 victory and said: “This should be much easier as our poll numbers are increasing rapidly, the economy is improving, vaccines and therapies will soon be on the way. , and Americans want safe streets and communities! “
In a statement to Fox News, DNC President Tom Pérez noted that “approximately 100,000 of our country’s older adults have lost their lives to the coronavirus. Thousands more have been hospitalized, and even those who have avoided the virus have been forced to isolate themselves, preventing them from hugging their children and grandchildren. And it’s all due to Trump’s failure of leadership. It didn’t have to be that bad. Older people need White House leadership to navigate this crisis. “
Pérez emphasized that “older people cannot afford another four years of Trump.”
But the president is not the only elected leader to criticize the loss of so many older adults due to the pandemic.
Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, who was praised from the start for his leadership in crushing the infection curve in the state most affected by the coronavirus, has also been criticized for his management of nursing homes, particularly the order in which nursing homes and other long-term care facilities could not refuse to accept the majority of patients recovering from COVID-19.
Nearly 6,500 deaths in New York have been linked to the coronavirus in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
