The latest ad campaign by Joe Biden isn’t hiding where he thinks President Trump is most vulnerable: voters over the age of 65.
Team Biden just committed to spending $14.5 million on television spots in six swing states, including Arizona and Florida, home to a number of retirees. Trump won both states in 2016, in large part to the fact that Trump earned 53% of older voters, 9 points more than Hillary Clinton. In Florida, Trump won the senior vote by a 17-point margin over Clinton.
But that lead has significantly slid, with Biden now leading Trump with seniors. Some statewide polls have Biden, 77, winning that crucial group, with voters in the highest numbers, by close to 20 points in a number of states. A survey by Fox News released this month showed 51% of seniors currently back Biden, with 46% supporting Trump.
That same poll found that 51% of voters say Biden would handle the coronavirus pandemic better than Trump, with 34% saying they preferred the president.
And Biden’s campaign clearly sees an opening to secure those voters or win more over. The commercials set to air this week focus on Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, of which a majority of voters disapprove. The spots will air in the daytime, during shows most viewed by seniors.
The ad begins with a Wisconsin resident named Jessica, who speaks candidly about losing her grandmother to the coronavirus.
“Last time I saw my grandmother, we weren’t going to be allowed in the hospital. We asked if we could video chat her, and everyone could say a little something,” Jessica says. “We gathered as a family and prayed. But the fact that she was alone, it just breaks my heart.” Jessica goes on to attack Trump’s “downplaying [of the] virus” and saying she “felt like our elderly have not been a priority for this administration.”
Alongside the television spots will come a digital ad campaign, with Biden noting that “our seniors, that are being hit the hardest,” by the coronavirus.
“Let’s start by caring for aging parents and loved ones, making their homes safer, but more importantly give them peace of mind, helping them live independently,” Biden says. “Everyone’s entitled to be treated with dignity. Everyone.”
Evidence is mounting that highlighting questions about Biden’s mental acuity has backfired on the Trump campaign, with polling data finding that many seniors find the attacks offensive.
Seniors remain at the highest risk of mortality to the coronavirus, with the vast bulk of nearly 150,000 deaths in the country coming from those in their 70s and 80s. A significant majority of deaths from the virus in various states come from those living in nursing home facilities.
“We have seen recent polling that has the vice president running 15 percentage points better with seniors than Democrats did in 2016,” Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a press conference in May.
