The Biden campaign is going hard on COVID-19’s threat to older Americans with $14.5 million in battleground state ads. In a moving television ad, a Greenfield, Wisconsin, woman named Jessica talks about her grandmother’s death, alone, from the virus, saying “the president made a huge mistake in downplaying this virus. There was a lack of leadership, a lack of responsibility, and a lack of resources. I felt like our elderly have not been a priority for this administration, that they don’t matter. And I feel like my grandmother didn’t matter.”
The campaign is also running a digital ad in which Biden himself says “Our seniors, that are being hit the hardest. Let’s start by caring for aging parents and loved ones. Making their homes safer, but more importantly, giving them peace of mind, helping them live independently. Everyone’s entitled to be treated with dignity. Everyone.”
The ads will be running in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Last week, the Biden campaign spent $15 million on paid media in battleground states—Nevada is an addition this week.
The last time a Democratic presidential nominee won the senior vote was Al Gore in 2000, but recent polls have showed Biden close to or even leading Donald Trump with voters 65 and older.
Jessica: She was the most welcoming person you could ever imagine. Her home was a safe place.
It was difficult to comprehend how quickly everything kind of spiraled downward. We didn’t even know that she had COVID until a week later and her passing.
The president made a huge mistake in downplaying this virus. There was a lack of leadership, a lack of responsibility, and a lack of resources. I felt like our elderly have not been a priority for this administration, that they don’t matter. And I feel like my grandmother didn’t matter.
Last time I saw my grandmother, we weren’t going to be allowed in the hospital. We asked if we could video chat her and everyone could say a little something. We gathered as a family and we prayed. But the fact that she was alone, it just breaks my heart.