John,

Donald Trump’s poll numbers are in freefall with older voters. In 2016, Trump won voters over 65 by 13 points. But now, polls show Joe Biden with a ten point lead¹ among all voters over 65, and a whopping 22 point lead² with older women. And in Florida, where seniors are over 20 percent of the population, Biden is nine points ahead of Trump—and that’s according to a FOX News poll!³

Social Security Works is fighting to protect seniors from Donald Trump. We need to stand together―Chip in $7 today!

These poll numbers are not a fluke. I’ve been traveling the country to talk to older voters about Social Security and Medicare since 2004. I can confidently predict that this November, older voters will deliver Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona and maybe North Carolina to Biden, resulting in a landslide victory.

Why have seniors turned on Trump? Coronavirus is a major factor. Seniors disapprove of how Trump is handling the pandemic more than any other age group except for 18-29 year olds.⁴

Nearly half a year into the pandemic, there’s still no federally coordinated system of testing and tracing. Instead Trump is demanding a reduction in tests, because he doesn’t want rising case numbers to make him look bad. Reducing the supply of tests makes it easier for COVID-19 to spread, putting the lives of millions of seniors—especially those living in nursing homes and other communal settings like assisted living facilities—in grave danger.

Over 57,000 nursing home residents and workers have died of COVID-19.⁵ That’s 12-18 deaths every hour of the day.⁶ The federal government needs to take swift action to end the nursing home crisis now. But Trump and Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) only care about protecting for-profit nursing home corporations from lawsuits. As far as they’re concerned, the lives of older Americans don’t matter.

Chip in $7 today to build a movement to EXPAND our Social Security system and protect seniors.

One of Trump’s top economic advisors, Stephen Moore, said the quiet part out loud by suggesting that we end social distancing measures entirely with the exception of “keeping older people in quarantine because they're the ones susceptible from dying.”⁷ This displays the administration’s contempt towards older people and their ignorance about how the coronavirus works.

Over 64 million Americans live in multigenerational households.⁸ If younger members of the household are thrown off unemployment benefits and forced to go to work, there’s no way to keep their relatives safe. Furthermore, twenty percent of people over 65 are still in the workforce.⁹ Once the coronavirus is widespread in a community, no one is safe. What Moore is really saying is that seniors’ lives are less valuable than Wall Street’s profits.

The Trump administration has sent a clear message to older Americans: “We don’t care whether you live or die. Some of you will just have to sacrifice yourselves to the economy so we can maintain power.”

Not surprisingly, that message doesn’t go over very well with older voters.

And Trump’s failure to manage the coronavirus pandemic is just part of his callous disregard for older Americans. He’s also attempting to defund Social Security and Medicare by permanently eliminating the payroll tax that funds the programs. Trump claims this is to stimulate the economy. But there are far faster and more efficient ways (such as direct cash payments) to get money into the pockets of people who need it most, without putting seniors’ earned benefits in danger.

Trump ran on a promise to protect Social Security and Medicare, but his payroll tax cut would do exactly the opposite. Nor is this the only time he’s broken that promise. Every single one of his proposed annual budgets have included hundreds of billions in cuts to Social Security and Medicare. The only reason these cuts haven’t become law is that congressional Democrats have rightfully thrown Trump’s budgets in the trash.

This November, it’s Trump himself who’s going to get tossed in the dumpster—and older voters are going to play a big part in making it happen.

Together, we’re throwing Trump’s anti-senior policies in the garbage. Chip in $7 today!

Thanks,

Jon “Bowzer” Bauman
Senior Advisor, Social Security Works

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