Trump will try to make a last ditch effort to appeal to America’s seniors in Florida today, but nothing he says can make up for his failed pandemic response that wreaked havoc on their lives or the fact that he is fighting to overturn the Affordable Care Act and cut the programs they rely on. It’s clear why Trump has lost support from America’s seniors.

Trump failed to provide nursing homes with crucial resources, such as personal protective equipment and adequate testing. 

Politico: “The unfolding tragedy in American nursing homes, where patients are dying in clusters, is another consequence of the coronavirus testing debacle….On top of that, the shortages of protective gear for health workers exacerbated the situation because nursing homes, hospices and other outpatient settings have a tough time getting scarce equipment like masks and gowns, provider groups said. This combination of lack of preparedness, inadequate testing capacity and misunderstanding of how the virus could spread seeded death in scores of nursing homes across the country, where patients are not only dying quickly, but often without family and loved ones at their side.”

Associated Press: “One in five U.S. nursing homes faced severe shortages of protective gear like N95 masks this summer even as the Trump administration pledged to help, according to a study released Thursday that finds facilities in areas hard-hit by COVID-19 also struggled to keep staff. Significantly, there was no improvement from May to July in the shortages of personal protective equipment, known as PPE, or in the staffing shortfalls, according to the analysis of federal data by academic researchers.”

Trump was slow to track COVID cases at nursing homes and never required all cases to be reported, obscuring the full toll on seniors.

NBC News: “The government still doesn’t know how many nursing homes have coronavirus outbreaks”

Wall Street Journal: “A recently launched federal effort to collect data on the impact of the coronavirus in nursing homes will leave the full toll unclear, because a new rule doesn’t require facilities to report deaths and infections that occurred before early May.”

Trump pushed forward with a rollback of protections for nursing home residents, even as COVID ripped through nursing homes.

USA Today: “The federal government is considering rolling back infection control requirements in U.S. nursing homes – even as the long-term-care industry’s residents and workers are overwhelmed by the coronavirus.”

Vox: “Trump reduced fines for nursing homes that put residents at risk. Then Covid-19 happened.”

Trump is fighting in court to terminate the Affordable Care Act, which risks raising costs and limiting options for America’s seniors.

New York Times: “Medicare beneficiaries would have to pay more for preventive care, like a wellness visit or diabetes check, which are now free. They would also have to pay more toward their prescription drugs.”

MarketWatch: “While toppling the law wouldn’t necessarily erase all the reporting requirements, it would weaken resident protections, strip many nursing-home workers of health coverage, limit long-term-care options for many seniors, and undermine efforts to improve nursing-home quality at a critical moment, policy experts say.”

Trump has threatened Medicare and Social Security and proposed hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to both programs.

NBC News: “Terminating payroll tax could end Social Security benefits in 2023, chief actuary warns”

AP Fact Check: “President Donald Trump’s proposed payroll tax cut is a threat to Social Security no matter how he casts it.”

Newsweek: “Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security: Trump’s Proposed Budget Slashes Entitlements—and Campaign Promises”

Vox: “Trump said he wouldn’t cut Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare. His 2020 budget cuts all 3.”

It’s no wonder Trump is losing support from seniors as his failed coronavirus response wreaks havoc on older Americans.

Axios: “Former Vice President Joe Biden has gained a more than 20 point lead over President Trump among voters ages 65 and older, two separate polls — one from CNN and one from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal — found.

Why it matters: Senior citizens are America’s most reliable voters — and a group that’s been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic.”

Morning Consult: “America’s Oldest Voters Have Turned on Trump”