Donald Trump campaign releases two new ads, appeals to seniors

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has released two new ads, one targeting seniors, as the General Election inches closer.

The two ads, both 30-seconds long, are called “Carefully” and “Biden Plan.”

The commercial “Carefully” is directed at seniors, a group that was vital to Trump’s 2016 election. The ad boasts Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, following his own recovery from the virus.

“President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus,” the ad narrator says. “And so is America. Together we rose to the challenge — protecting our seniors, getting them life saving drugs in record time, sparing no expense.”

During the narration, the ad flashes clips of seniors, as well as videos of Trump talking to medical personnel inside hospitals, wearing a mask. The ad also features Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s top infectious diseases experts.

“I can’t imagine… that anybody could be doing more,” Fauci says in a clip used in the ad. The quote used is from an interview on Fox News, though he was speaking about the scale of the federal government’s mobilization — not specifically complimenting the President, according to a report from Politico.

“We’ll get through this together, we’ll live carefully, but not afraid,” the ad concludes.

This ad shows the growing effort from the Trump campaign to appeal to its senior base, which it may be losing touch with due to the administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump’s response to COVID-19 has been a sore spot that the Democratic Party is honing in on. Earlier Saturday, the Democratic National Committee unveiled new billboards in Orlando and The Villages criticizing Trump‘s response, which has led to the death of more than 15,000 Floridians. The billboard ad reads, “COVID cases are spiking. This administration failed us.”

That came ahead of Vice President Mike Pence’s events in Florida this weekend. Pence kicked off the day by hosting a ‘Latinos for Trump’ event in Orlando at 1 p.m. Saturday at Central Christian University, and stopped at The Villages at 3:30 p.m.

The second ad released, “Biden Plan,” makes claims about Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s tax plan.

The ad alleges Biden will raise taxes for middle class families, even threatening a 14% tax hike. The ad also claims Biden will raise taxes on 82% of all Americans. However, according to Politifact, those allegations on Biden’s tax plan are false, as Biden’s tax plan would not directly raise taxes on any household earning below $400,000.

The commercial ends with the quote, “So what would the Biden plan do for you? Raise your taxes.”

The Trump campaign is also working hard to appeal to Hispanic voters, another essential voting group, releasing a new Spanish-language ad Saturday morning targeting Hispanic voters.

Older Floridian voters helped deliver the presidency to Trump in 2016. The Pew Research Center estimates Trump led among voters 65 and older by 9 percentage points that election. And, his campaign hoped they would be a bulwark to cement a second term, according to The Associated Press.

However, a recent report from The Associated Press reveals that The Villages, which is typically regarded as a safe GOP electorate, may be bluer this election than in previous years.

According to the report, it seems, older voters have been put off by Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, which affects older voters more acutely than others.

A post-debate poll from The New York Times and Siena College, shows Biden leading Trump by 5-points.

The poll also showed Biden continuing to lead among Floridians 65 and older. The Times/Siena poll found no signs of any significant gains by Trump among Florida’s Hispanic voters, instead showing Biden leading 58% to 34% with Hispanic Floridians. In Miami-Dade County overall, Biden leads 61% to 30%, the poll shows.