![]() ![]() "A lot of these folks are not as wealthy as the Republicans of old. In the 2020 presidential election, 56% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters were aged over 50, up from 39% in 1996, according to the non-partisan Pew Research Center. John Feehery, a Republican strategist, said Trump's approach could yield political dividends among a Republican primary electorate that has a large number of older voters who rely heavily on both programs. ![]() That inaction may be contributing to the former president's big early lead in opinion polls in the Republican race, two of the political analysts said. "Ron DeSantis' record in Washington is out of step with the Republican Party today and the general election voters who will decide our next president."ĭeSantis has so far largely failed to push back against Trump's verbal onslaught. "It shows how he would govern in Washington," Miller said. Jason Miller, a senior adviser on Trump's campaign, said the policy-heavy strategy was intended to draw a distinction between the former president and DeSantis on entitlement spending and other policies, while tying the governor to so-called establishment Republicans despised by the Trump base, a coalition of unwavering supporters built in large part on white working-class voters. In the interview, DeSantis stressed that no-one had proposed changes that would impact "current senior citizens." In an interview on the conservative Newsmax cable network on May 8, DeSantis noted that Trump himself supported raising the Social Security eligibility age to 70 in a book released in 2000. Today, party leaders and many Republican voters oppose reforming Social Security and Medicare because so many Americans rely on the programs. I will always protect Social Security and Medicare for our great seniors."Įven though DeSantis and congressional Republican leaders have said the programs should be off the table in debt limit talks between Republicans and the White House, the Trump campaign has seized on votes DeSantis made when he was a congressman between 20.ĭeSantis voted several times during that period for gradually raising the age to collect Social Security to 70 from 65 and changing Medicare into a system where seniors would get help to buy their own insurance.Ĭuts to entitlement spending was Republican orthodoxy at the time. Trump has repeatedly accused DeSantis of wanting to "destroy" those benefits and has criticized the Florida governor 43 times on those issues since November, with the attacks intensifying since March, according to the analysis.Īt a rally in the early primary state of New Hampshire on April 27, Trump - using one of a handful of his nicknames for the governor - said: "Unlike Ron DeSanctus. The vast majority of those attacks - 216 - have been aimed at DeSantis, who has yet to declare his candidacy but is expected to announce by June, according to a source familiar with his thinking.Ī main focus of Trump's attacks has been Social Security - the federal pension system - and Medicare. 15, he has launched at least 242 attacks against declared and potential rivals for the party's nomination, according to a Reuters analysis of his statements on his Truth Social platform, his emails, major speeches, media interviews and campaign press releases. Since Trump announced his White House run on Nov. "This time it's clear that Trump is changing the way he does this by hitting harder on the policy stuff," said David Gergen, a non-partisan analyst who has advised one Democratic and three Republican presidents. May 17 (Reuters) - Amid the headline-grabbing insults and name-calling, Donald Trump is pursuing a surprisingly policy-heavy strategy to damage his closest Republican rival Ron DeSantis before he enters the presidential race, according to a Reuters analysis of the former president's statements since he announced his White House bid.įorty percent of Trump's attacks on the Florida governor have targeted issues such as Social Security, the government-run Medicare health program for older Americans, foreign policy and DeSantis' record in office.įive political analysts who reviewed Reuters' findings said the strategy marks a sharp contrast with Trump's first run for president in 2016, when he won the Republican nomination with chaotic tactics based largely on personal insults leveled at his opponents. ![]()
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