Recent polling from Florida has shown older voters flocking away from President Donald Trump and toward former Vice President Joe Biden amid the president's widely criticized handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Washington Post spoke with several older Florida voters who said they did not cast ballots for president in 2016 because they didn't like either Trump or Hillary Clinton, but who are now deeply alarmed by what they see as Trump's mishandling of the crisis.
"January and February were totally wasted by Trump," said a 74-year-old Florida resident who wished only to be identified as Tom. "To Trump, in my opinion, the virus is nothing more than an inconvenience to him and his political ambitions. And he doesn’t really care. I don’t believe he cares about the people."
The man said that even though he traditionally leans toward Republicans, he'll be voting for Biden in November.
Julio, another older Florida voter, told the Post that while he's not sure he'll back Biden yet, he cannot imagine himself voting to give Trump a second term.
"He wants to say things, whether they’re true or not, to ingratiate himself," he said. "It’s a problem. There’s a trust factor there. I don’t even listen to him anymore because I can’t believe what he says."
And Allen Lehner, a lifelong GOP voter until the 2016 election, said that he won't be sitting out the 2020 election the same way he sat out in 2016, and will instead vote for Biden.
"Presidents have in the past given leadership or comfort," he said. "But there is nothing coming from our current president."