Republican Strategists Fear Donald Trump’s Attacks On USPS Will Push Seniors To Joe Biden

Some Republican strategists fear that President Donald Trump’s attacks on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will push senior citizens to Joe Biden, the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, The Washington Examiner reported.

In recent weeks, Trump has railed against mail-in voting, claiming that it would lead to widespread fraud. He has also pushed back against Democratic demands to provide additional funding for the USPS, refusing to make a deal.

Seniors, who rely on vote-by-mail, are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, and some Republicans fear they will abandon the Republican Party if Trump keeps attacking the post office.

“Seniors are the most vulnerable part of the country to coronavirus. Logic suggests that seniors are going to be the most interested portion of the electorate in voting by mail rather than standing in line and entering a crowded election center,” Republican pollster Whit Ayers said.

Jeffrey Brauer, a political science professor at Keystone College in Pennsylvania, said that Trump’s attacks on the USPS “may very well backfire.”

“That, along with his political appointee postmaster general, who has been making cuts during a crucial time for mail delivery, could push many seniors into the Biden camp.”

Veteran GOP strategist Alex Castellano argued that senior citizens are concerned about Trump’s overall handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and not just about vote-by-mail.

“I doubt the health of the post office is as dominating [an] issue as their own health and survival,” he said.

Considered a key voter group, seniors vote at a rate of 70 percent in presidential elections. Their votes are especially important in key battleground states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania.

In addition, many seniors use the Postal Service to receive Social Security checks and shipments of prescription drugs.

Polling suggests that Trump is already trailing Biden among seniors. In fact, according to an NBC News analysis, older voters are one of the main driving forces behind the Democrat’s rise in the polls.

In polling averages, Biden is 5 percentage points ahead of Trump among voters age 65 and older, which represents a dramatic shift from 2016.

Per The Inquisitr, in a recent op-ed, The Washington Post‘s Greg Sargent suggested that Trump has threatened to deploy federal agents to more Democrat-run cities in order to appeal to seniors concerned about their safety.

Sargent wrote that Biden is winning among elderly voters because he is perceived as someone who would be able to handle the coronavirus pandemic.