News

New Fact Sheet From Protect Our Care Details the Trump Administration’s Failure to Prepare for the Spread of the Virus and the Resulting Devastation Veterans and Their Families

Fact Sheet: Trump Is Failing Veterans on Coronavirus

Washington, DC — Today, Protect Our Care is releasing a new fact sheet detailing how the Trump administration’s failure to adequately respond to the coronavirus crisis was a key factor in thousands of deaths of veterans across the country. America’s veterans, especially those at veterans homes and in VA hospitals, are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic due to serious shortages of PPE and an insufficient supply of medications, staff and equipment available to treat veterans with COVID-19. This fact sheet puts a spotlight on the Trump administration’s deficiencies in providing adequate care to veterans by squandering precious time and resources while thousands of veterans died under their watch.

“America’s veterans deserve better than to be let down by Donald Trump’s failure to ensure the VA had resources it needed to fight the coronavirus head on,” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “President Trump squandered precious time in the fight against the coronavirus and his administration’s failure to prepare for the pandemic led to thousands of avoidable deaths among our nation’s veterans. In order to ensure the health and safety of the millions of veterans who have put their lives on the line for our country, we need to make sure that VA hospitals and veterans homes receive the resources they need to treat every American veteran suffering from and recovering from coronavirus.” 

Washington, DC — At a press conference this morning, Speaker Pelosi announced that the House will vote this month on legislation to make health care more affordable, protect people with pre-existing conditions, and expand the number of Americans with health insurance. Building on the Affordable Care Act is particularly critical in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. The House will vote the same month the Trump administration will be filing briefs in support of their lawsuit to overturn the ACA and rip health care from 20 million Americans and protections for 135 million with pre-existing conditions. In response to this announcement, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement: 

“The legislation announced by Speaker Pelosi will make health care more affordable, dramatically increase the number of people insured, and protect people with pre-existing conditions from Donald Trump’s efforts to rip away their protections. Building on the Affordable Care Act will also help reduce the racial disparities prevalent in health care today. Substantial bipartisan majorities of the American public support these important steps. 

“House Democrats’ commitment to ensuring all Americans have access to affordable quality health care stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s promise to terminate the Affordable Care Act in the courts in the middle of the coronavirus epidemic. Donald Trump and his enablers in Congress want to take coverage away from 20 million Americans when 27 million have already lost their employer based health insurance, and rip coverage away from 135 million Americans with a pre-existing condition. Eliminating protections for pre-existing conditions could leave people who contract the coronavirus at the mercy of their insurance company.

“Democrats are listening to the specific concerns of Americans who are more worried than ever about their health. It’s no wonder Americans don’t trust Donald Trump or his Republican enablers when it comes to their number one concern – health care.”

New national polling makes clear that the majority of Americans are rejecting President Trump’s leadership as the coronavirus crisis shows no signs of stopping and nationwide protests highlight his failure to bring the country together. With over 100,000 Americans dead, 21 million still unemployed and the country on track to hit 2 million coronavirus cases this week, Americans are fed up with Trump’s chaotic response to this crisis and disastrous presidency.

Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll: “55% of voters disapproved of Trump’s handling of the virus, up from 52% in April and 51% in March.”

CNN Poll: “Overall 38% approve of the way Trump is handling the presidency, while 57% disapprove…Biden also outpaces Trump overall on handling coronavirus (55% to 41%), and on leading the nation in times of crisis (55% to 41%).”

ABC News/Ipsos Poll: “Trump’s approval for his stewardship over the nation’s response to the outbreak remains at a record low 39%. Six in 10 Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the virus.”

Older Americans have suffered for years under President Trump’s health care agenda and his disastrous coronavirus response effort has put them at grave risk during this public health crisis. Four out of five coronavirus deaths have been Americans over 65. From the start President Trump has downplayed the coronavirus crisis, refused to listen to experts and failed to provide adequate testing and personal protective equipment, resulting in the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands of older Americans. As news reports made clear this week, Trump’s failure of leadership on coronavirus is hurting him with this critical block of voters, and will undoubtedly continue to do so.

NBC News: Trump Finds Himself Playing Campaign Defense With Core Elements Of His Base. “Trump’s weakening appeal with seniors following his response to the coronavirus is hurting him particularly hard in Florida, where 21 percent of voters are 65 and older. In 2016, Trump won the senior vote in the state by 17 points over Hillary Clinton, but he leads Biden among that group by just 4 points, according to a Florida Atlantic University poll this month. In a separate survey, Biden held a 10-point lead over Trump among seniors, according to an April poll of Floridians by Quinnipiac University.” [NBC News, 5/27/20] 

Philadelphia Inquirer: Some Pa. Seniors Are Turning On Trump. That Could Be A Problem For His Reelection. “Trump, who needs to win states like Pennsylvania and hopes to hold onto supporters like Banion, may have a lurking problem. National polling averages show he’s in a relative dead heat with Joe Biden among voters over 65, a group he won by 10 points in 2016. In recent polling of Pennsylvania voters, Trump comes up a few points short of Biden with voters over 45, according to an April Fox poll.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/26/20] 

• Chris Borick, Pollster At Muhlenberg College In Allentown, Said “Seniors Have Felt The Wrath Of This Pandemic More Than Any Other Age Cohort.” “‘Seniors have felt the wrath of this pandemic more than any other age cohort’ said Chris Borick, a pollster at Muhlenberg College in Allentown. ‘By numbers and health effects, it’s been devastating. The concern levels we’ve seen, when we’ve polled, are highest among seniors, and that, of course, could be bleeding into their appraisal of the president.’” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/26/20] 

Washington Post: In Crucial Florida, Some Senior Voters Cast A Skeptical Eye Toward Trump’s Reelection. “Yet for months, Biden has been more popular than Trump with seniors. A national poll of registered voters released by Quinnipiac University last week shows Biden leading by 10 points among voters over 65. A Quinnipiac poll in late April found 52 percent of Florida seniors supporting Biden to 42 percent for Trump, while a Fox News poll around the same time found Biden narrowly ahead.” [Washington Post, 5/25/20] 

• “The Skepticism Toward The President Among Some Seniors Comes As Their Lives Have Been Drastically Altered By The Coronavirus, Which Has Swept Through Nursing Homes And Retirement Communities Across The County.” “The skepticism toward the president among some seniors comes as their lives have been drastically altered by the coronavirus, which has swept through nursing homes and retirement communities across the country. In Florida, more than 80 percent of the 2,000-plus people killed by the virus have been over age 65, according to an analysis by the Tampa Bay Times.” [Washington Post, 5/25/20]

Washington Post (Opinion): Trump’s Poor Handling Of The Crisis May Lose Him The GOP’s Most Reliable Voters. “With President Trump’s inept and erratic handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic, he is rapidly losing support among the age group most vulnerable to its ravages — which is a big warning sign to Republicans as they look to the fall. Trump has also been showing slippage in support among the next-oldest cohort, those 55 and older. The shift has been showing up in a string of recent polls, reportedly including those that have been conducted by Trump’s own campaign.” [Washington Post, 5/25/20] 

Washington Post (Opinion): America’s Seniors, Sacrificed On The Altar Of Reopening. “Back in March, three-fifths of those 65 and over approved of the federal government’s response to the pandemic. Now a majority of that age group disapprove. Poll after poll has shown Trump in the past two months losing his lead among 65-and-over voters, a crucial demographic for Republicans, both nationally and in battleground states. The political handicapping site FiveThirtyEight observes that Trump won voters 65 and older by 13.3 percentage points in 2016. At the moment, Trump trails Biden by 1.0 points among such voters in an average of national polls — an enormous swing.” [Washington Post, 5/22/20] 

New York Times: Anxious About the Virus, Older Voters Grow More Wary of Trump. “For years, Republicans and Mr. Trump have relied on older Americans, the country’s largest voting bloc, to offset a huge advantage Democrats enjoy with younger voters. In critical states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida, all of which have large older populations, Mr. Trump’s advantage with older voters has been essential to his political success; in 2016, he won voters over the age of 65 by seven percentage points, according to national exit poll data.But seniors are also the most vulnerable to the global pandemic, and the campaign’s internal polls, people familiar with the numbers said, show Mr. Trump’s support among voters over the age of 65 softening to a concerning degree, as he pushes to reopen the country’s economy at the expense of stopping a virus that puts them at the greatest risk.” [New York Times, 5/19/20] 

• New York Times: By Rejecting To Open A Special Enrollment Period, The Trump Administration “Has Also Hampered Some Of Its Own Efforts To Appeal To Older Voters.” “But the administration has also hampered some of its own efforts to appeal to older voters. Mr. Trump recently rejected an expanded enrollment period for the newly uninsured, for instance.” [New York Times, 5/19/20] 

Al Jazeera: In Key Us State Of Florida, Trump Stumbles Among Senior Voters. ”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. Trump carried voters 65 and older in the state by 9 percentage points, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Some Republicans warn that could be tough for Trump to repeat as the public health and economic fallout of the pandemic deepens.” [Al Jazaeera, 5/15/20] 

The Hill (Opinion): Seniors Will Make Donald Trump A One-Term President. “Despite being a ‘senior citizen’ himself, many Americans in the president’s age group have recently soured on him, especially in light of his administration’s response to COVID-19. Back in mid-March, Americans over 65 years old ‘approved of Trump’s handling of the outbreak at a higher rate than any other age group,; according to Morning Consult. Just a month later, that specific COVID-19 response approval rating dropped 20 points and is now lower than any other age group, except for 18 to 29-year-olds. By a 6-to-1 margin in that same survey, older Americans say that government should prioritize the coronavirus health response and mitigation of the virus above the economic focus.” [The Hill, 5/26/20] 

Read the “Seniors At Risk” Report Here

Washington, DC — On a press call this morning, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), the Alliance for Retired Americans and Protect Our Care discussed how President Trump’s health care sabotage agenda and leadership failures are especially harmful to seniors facing the coronavirus pandemic. The call addressed the new “Seniors At Risk” report released by Protect Our Care and the Alliance for Retired Americans today on how American seniors stand to lose in Trump’s war on health care, especially in his lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act that would devastate older Americans during this crisis.

This week Protect Our Care launched the “Seniors At Risk” campaign, beginning with the release of a new digital ad informing seniors, their children and grandchildren how President Trump is downplaying the coronavirus crisis, refusing to listen to experts, and failing to provide adequate testing, resulting in the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands of America’s seniors.

Protect Our Care will continue its “Seniors At Risk” campaign with a series of state specific reports, state press calls with local elected officials, health care advocates and allied organizations, and additional digital ads.

Call Audio Available Here

“As we struggle to break free from the grips of the worst public health crisis our Nation has seen in a century, older Americans have been left as an afterthought by the Trump Administration,” said Senator Casey. “Protect Our Care and the Alliance for Retired Americans have released a report that details more than 20 million new Americans who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic are eligible for coverage through the ACA Marketplace. During this pandemic, more than ever, Americans need access to affordable health care. This Administration must drop their lawsuit against the ACA and stop its efforts to undermine the health and safety of seniors and their families especially during this pandemic.”

“From day one, President Trump has put the retirement security and health of older Americans at unnecessary risk. In just the last three months, COVID-19 has killed tens of thousands of older Americans. The president’s botched response shows a callous indifference toward the lives of seniors,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “Rather than rallying the nation and marshaling the full resources of the federal government to fight this national emergency, he’s even used the pandemic as a pretense to gut Social Security by eliminating its dedicated funding. What have America’s seniors done to deserve this?”

“Two and a half years ago, I was fortunate to receive a lung transplant that saved my life,” said Gary Mitchell, a lung transplant survivor and President of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans. “Now my life and the lives of millions of older Americans are at risk from the coronavirus. President Trump’s failure to take this health crisis seriously has made a terrible situation worse, and thousands of seniors have died because of it.”

“President Trump’s failure to prepare us for the coronavirus crisis and his all-out war on health care has shown his complete disregard for the health and safety of older Americans,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “Eighty percent of all coronavirus deaths have been over the age of 65 and many seniors have died unnecessarily and alone. If President Trump truly cared about the livelihoods of American seniors, he wouldn’t be trying to rip apart our health care system and gut critical programs like Medicare and Medicaid that are essential for older Americans to receive life-saving treatment and care.”

Protect Our Care Launches Campaign With New Digital Ad; Will Also Include National and State Specific Reports and State Press Events

Washington, DC — Today, Protect Our Care is launching the “Seniors At Risk” campaign, a new, targeted effort to bring attention to how Trump’s war on health care is putting seniors’ lives in danger during the coronavirus crisis. The campaign begins with the launch of a new digital ad informing seniors, their children and grandchildren how President Trump is downplaying the coronavirus crisis, refusing to listen to experts, and failing to provide adequate testing that has resulted in the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands of America’s seniors. POC is also releasing a new national report in the coming days highlighting the dramatic impact of the virus on nursing homes and older Americans — 4 out of 5 coronavirus deaths have been Americans over 65. 

The campaign also highlights how the Trump administration’s ongoing sabotage of seniors’ health care is especially dangerous as the nation grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. 

Specifically, the campaign focuses on the Trump administration’s proposals for draconian cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and their Texas lawsuit that would overturn the ACA and increase drug costs and insurance premiums and gut protections for pre-existing conditions. 

Over the course of the “Seniors At Risk” campaign, Protect Our Care will also issue a series of state specific reports, hold state press calls with local elected officials, health care advocates and organizations, and release additional digital ads.

View the Launch Video

“President Trump’s disastrous coronavirus response and years-long war on health care has put older Americans squarely in the crosshairs of this deadly pandemic,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “Eighty percent of all deaths have been over the age of 65 and many have died unnecessarily and alone. Americans have lost their parents and grandparents. President Trump’s failure to prepare us for this crisis, and his ongoing war on health care has shown just how little this administration cares about the health and safety of older Americans. If President Trump truly cared about our seniors, he wouldn’t be trying to rip apart our health care system and gut critical programs like Medicare and Medicaid that are essential for older Americans to receive life-saving treatment and care.”

Ad Script:

In this pandemic, America’s seniors are in danger.

Why? Because President Trump failed to prepare America for this crisis.

While he was downplaying the threat, calling it a hoax, older Americans were among the first to die.

4 out of 5 Coronavirus deaths have been Americans over 65.

And more than one third of all U.S. coronavirus deaths have been in nursing homes.

Many dying alone.

And while the virus continues to put seniors at risk, President Trump insists “we have prevailed.”

Ignoring the experts, rushing to reopen the economy, threatening our most vulnerable.

Older Americans, our parents and our grandparents, at grave risk. 

Tell President Trump: Stop putting seniors at risk.

Yesterday, President Trump visited a Ford manufacturing plant to try to salvage his support from Michigan voters. Instead, by refusing to wear a mask, Trump once again showed Michiganders and people across the country he is not taking the pandemic that has killed nearly 100,000 Americans seriously. 

Before his visit, Protect Our Care held a press call to discuss President Trump’s response to the coronavirus crisis in Michigan and how his failures have placed Michiganders’ health and safety at risk ahead of his visit to the state. Protect Our Care also unveiled a new survey conducted with Public Policy Polling in Michigan that finds voters in Michigan disapprove of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, trust Governor Whitmer far more, oppose relaxing social distancing and believe Trump deserves blame for the rising death toll and job loss as a result of his botched response. 

Here is what Michiganders saw and read about Trump’s visit:

MLive: Trump Visits Michigan Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Historic Flooding And Economic Downturn. [MLive, 5/21/20] 

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Health Care Workers: Trump Wants Economy To Reopen — But We’re Not Ready. [Detroit Free Press, 5/21/20] 

Dearborn Press & Guide: Hammoud, Protect Our Care Blast Trump On Covid-19 Policy Ahead Of Visit To Michigan. [Dearborn Press & Guide, 5/21/20] 

Detroit Free Press: Nessel Calls Trump ‘Petulant Child,’ Says He Would Not Be Welcomed Back To Michigan. [Detroit Free Press, 5/21/20] 

Washington Post: Trump Skips A Mask In Public During Tour Of Michigan Auto Plant That Requires Them. [Washington Post, 5/21/20]

Reuters: Trump Visits Ford Plant In Politically Crucial Michigan, Leaves Mask Off For Cameras. [Reuters, 5/21/20] 

Associated Press: Pandemic Politics: Maskless Trump Tours Michigan Ford Plant. [Associated Press, 5/22/20] 

CNN: Michigan AG: Trump Was ‘Incredibly Disrespectful’ To Our State. [CNN, 5/21/20] 

Washington Post: Ahead Of President’s Visit, Michigan Town Battles Racial Disparities In Coronavirus Deaths. [Washington Post, 5/20/20] 

U.S. News & World Report: Trump Trails Biden in New Michigan Poll. [U.S. News & World Report, 5/21/20] 

Washington, DC — Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Tina Smith (D-MN) alongside Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) unveiled a new proposal to improve and expand access to health care for Americans in response to the coronavirus crisis. Their proposal includes much needed action to expand premium tax credits and financial assistance for families impacted by the crisis, open a special enrollment period, restore funding for outreach, further expand Medicaid, strengthen protections for pre-existing conditions and crack down on junk insurance plans that don’t cover these protections. In response to their proposal, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement: 

“There has never been a more important time to ensure Americans have access to quality and affordable health care and the proposal unveiled by Senators Shaheen and Smith along with Senators Wyden and Murray makes it clear Senate Democrats understand those critical health care needs. Their plan is in stark contrast to the ongoing efforts by President Trump and his Republican enablers in Congress to rip health care away from 20 million Americans and protections for 135 million with pre-existing conditions. Incentivizing holdout states to expand Medicaid, opening a special enrollment period for the uninsured, and making health insurance more affordable are common sense solutions to helping Americans get quality, affordable care. President Trump and Republicans in Congress need to stop pushing junk insurance plans that don’t cover pre-existing conditions and drop their Texas lawsuit to terminate the ACA that would rip coverage away from 20 million Americans in the middle of the crisis.” 

Trump’s Approval On Health Care Has Fallen 15 Points Since March 23 

New polling from Navigator Research today confirms that Americans are rejecting Trump’s leadership in record numbers when it comes to health care during the coronavirus crisis. Millions of Americans have lost their health care since the pandemic began. Meanwhile, the president plows forward with his lawsuit that would terminate the ACA and strip coverage from 20 million more Americans. As we head into a Memorial Day Weekend where we are nearing 100,000 deaths, it’s evident that Americans are seeing through Trump’s empty rhetoric which has served as a thin veil for his disastrous response effort that has gotten us to this point. 

From Navigator Research

View the Survey Results

Washington, DC — On a press call today, Protect Our Care and Public Policy Polling along with Michigan State Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D-Dearborn, MI) and Dr. Rob Davidson discussed President Trump’s response to the coronavirus crisis in Michigan and how his failures have placed Michiganders’ health and safety at risk ahead of his visit to the state. Protect Our Care also unveil a new survey conducted with Public Policy Polling in Michigan that finds voters in Michigan disapprove of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, trust Governor Whitmer far more, oppose relaxing social distancing and believe Trump deserves blame for the rising death toll and job loss as a result of his botched response. 

Call Audio Available Here

Key survey findings: 

• Governor Whitmer’s net approval rating for her handling of the virus is 26 points better than Trump’s. Whitmer has a +17 approval for it at 55/38, while Trump gets a -9 rating with only 42% approving and 51% disapproving of the job he’s doing handling the virus.
• On the head to head question of who voters trust more to protect Michigan from the coronavirus, Whitmer beats out Trump 55-37, including a 56-32 spread with independents.
• By a 10-point margin, voters do not think President Trump is doing enough to protect America from the coronavirus – 42% of voters think he’s doing enough, while 52% do not.
• Only 26% of voters think social distancing measures should be relaxed, with 66% believing that the current policies are correct, including 68% of independent voters.
• Voters say they would choose safety over speed when it comes to reopening the economy. When asked to choose between reopening the economy more quickly, or more safely, just 30% say they would choose to reopen the economy more quickly, while 65% say they would choose to reopen the economy more safely, including 66% of independent voters. 
• 60% of voters say that President Trump and his administration deserve a great deal or at least some responsibility for both the number of Americans who have died and the number of jobs lost due to the coronavirus. 
• Trump’s overall approval rating in the state is 44/51, and he trails Joe Biden 51-45 in a head to head match up. 

“During this crisis, the real leadership has been coming from Governor Gretchen Whitmer. It’s evident Trump is much more concerned with campaigning than ensuring Americans are protected and have the resources they need to get through the COVID-19 pandemic,” said State Rep. Abdullah Hammoud. “Despite being in the middle of a global pandemic, he continues to do everything possible to undermine the Affordable Care Act and limit access to the quality, affordable health care it provides.”

“Doctors don’t need polls to tell us what we know to be true: President Trump has failed all of us,” said Dr. Rob Davidson. “President Trump called health care workers warriors running into death like soldiers running into bullets on the battlefield. Well, we don’t want to be warriors battling against this virus, and if he thinks we are his warriors, he needs to give us the armor we need to make sure we are not unnecessarily dying in his war. Give us the PPE we need, give us the tests we need so we can effectively manage this virus and get America open safely again.”

“Poll after poll shows that voters in Michigan and across the country have lost trust in Donald Trump’s ability to lead them through this crisis,” said Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse. “Americans want clear and consistent leadership to keep them safe, but this president continues to put people in danger by downplaying the need for testing, ignoring the advice of experts and trying to rip health care from millions of Americans when they need it most. Americans overwhelmingly support continuing social distancing and they don’t trust his efforts to rush the reopening of the economy without proper safety measures in place. It’s no wonder voters in Michigan reject Trump’s leadership and blame the rising death toll and unemployment on his systematic failure to get America through this crisis.” 

“The results of the poll clearly show that Michigan voters are much more on board with Governor Whitmer’s approach to the virus than Donald Trump’s,” said Jim Williams with Public Policy Polling. “As a consequence, we see Joe Biden leading Donald Trump in Michigan.”