On Wednesday, Axios broke down the scale of President Donald Trump's collapse among voters 65 and older — and suggested that it could "bring the whole Republican power structure down."
"In what has been a 50-50ish nation, it's stunning to see polling gaps this wide," wrote Jim VandenHei and Jonathan Swan. "In a NBC/Wall Street Journal poll out Sunday, Joe Biden led Trump by 27 points among seniors (62% to 35%). In a CNN/SSRS poll out yesterday, similar story — 21 points (60% to 39%)."
One factor is the president's mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic, which disproportionately poses a danger to senior citizens — one White House adviser told Axios, "if you don't take something that is killing old people seriously, you will lose seniors." But that is not the whole story. Polls from before the virus began spreading in the United States also showed Trump hemorrhaging the older vote; other factors include the president's low ratings on health care issues, and the collapse of his support with women in general.
This trend is a huge problem for Republicans. Older people vote at a 64 percent rate — a much higher rate than other age groups — and Republicans have relied on an advantage with senior citizens to edge out Democrats in turnout.
"Younger, white men alone do not a victory make," the report concluded. "So the 65+ trend represents a clear and present danger to the vitality and viability of the GOP."