Key voting group for Trump grows restless amid outbreak
SUN CITY CENTER, Fla. — President Trump’s path to reelection runs through places like Sun City Center, a former cow pasture south of Tampa that’s now home to a booming retirement community. But some residents in this conservative swath of America’s premier battleground are growing restless.
Irvin Hilts is among them. The 72yearold retiree voted for Trump in 2016 but has grown frustrated with the tumult surrounding his administration. His support for Trump collapsed entirely amid the coronavirus pandemic, which Hilts blames the president for mishandling.
“I don’t think Donald Trump is doing a very good job at all,” Hilts said. “Changes his mind too often, leaving too much up to the states when the federal government should be handling more of it.”
Such sentiment could damage Trump’s bid to keep the White House. Trump has virtually no path to victory without winning Florida, and older voters are key to that effort. Older voters make up an outsize share of the voting population in the state, where Trump defeated Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by just over 1 percentage point in 2016.
Some Republicans warn it could be tough for Trump to repeat as the public health and economic fallout of the pandemic deepens.
“They were willing to look past his tweets and consider their 401(k)s,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who advised Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign. “That message worked until the pandemic caused the market crash.”
Any erosion of support among seniors could doom Trump if this November’s election is as close as four years ago. Three Midwestern battlegrounds — Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — feature sizable aging populations. Arizona, another state that Democrats hope to flip in 2020, is home to a growing number of retirees.
But as is often the case during close elections, it could all come down to Florida. And Trump’s team is closely following any sign of faltering support among seniors and other core constituencies.
Trump once held massive rallies largely attended by Baby Boomers and seniors, who treated them like rock concerts. With those events scuttled because of the pandemic, the campaign has largely turned to online events, which have limited reach to seniors. The campaign has discussed trying to target digital events for older Americans, while the White House has begun highlighting the president’s accomplishments for seniors.
At the White House earlier this month, Trump surrounded himself with health officials as he signed a proclamation declaring May to be “Older Americans Month.”
“The virus poses the greatest risk to older Americans,” said Trump, vowing to protect them. He has also reiterated his pledge not to touch social safety net programs while the administration has begun efforts to safeguard nursing homes, which have been disproportionately affected by the virus.