Trump just committed political suicide

Dear MoveOn member,

Donald Trump just handed us an enormous political gift—and if we take advantage, it could end his chances at re-election.

For years, Trump has promised not to touch Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.¹ But a few weeks ago, he admitted at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that he would pursue cuts to these programs, if he's re-elected.²

Then, last week, Trump released his 2021 budget, which will cut these programs by $1.7 TRILLION.³

Cutting Social Security is opposed by eight of 10 voters over 50. And when you look at the list of the states with the most voters over 50, it's like a carbon copy of the list of key 2020 election battleground states: Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Hampshire, Wisconsin … ⁴

If Trump underperforms among seniors in key battleground states by even one or two points, his shot at re-election is over.

We need to drive this message home until Election Day. Will you donate $5 a month to let older voters know about Trump's attack on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid? This could crush any hopes of Trump winning re-election.

Cutting Social Security in an election year is such a politically radioactive idea that, frankly, we can't believe Trump would admit it.

To take advantage of the opportunity, we want to make sure that every dime we spend is specifically targeted at the voters who really care about this issue. Television is terrible for that, because if you buy a television ad, you're going to be charged for everyone who might see the ad, whether they are likely to care about the issue or not.

But social media is a totally different ballgame. Sites like Facebook allow us to make sure that our ads are reaching the right people in the right states. Do we want to target independent voters who are over 50, live in key battleground states, and always vote? We can order that right up.

Senior citizens vote at a higher rate than any other age group, and they tend to skew Republican. So if you're a Republican president trying to win re-election, going after their benefits is a pretty bad idea.

Let's put it this way: If you were literally trying to create an issue designed to peel off Trump voters and swing the voters in key battleground states in the 2020 election, this would be it.

But if we're going to take advantage of this situation, we need to draw attention to it ourselves. Democratic presidential candidates are focused on working to secure the nomination, and the media is too distracted with Trump's latest celebrity pardon or outrageous tweet to focus on kitchen-table issues like this one.

Because we never thought that Trump would give us such a huge gift, we didn't plan for this long-term ad campaign in our budget for the year. Will you chip in $5 a month to help get this message out, so critical swing voters know about Trump's plan to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid?

Thanks for all you do.

–Chris, Allison, Justin, Anne, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Trump vowed to not cut Social Security and Medicare — hours before proposing just that," Vox, February 10, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/117137?t=6&akid=258009%2E3735812%2Ei67chP

2. "'Hobnobbing With Billionaires in Davos,' Trump Admits—If Reelected—He Will Seek to Cut Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare," Common Dreams, January 22, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/117138?t=8&akid=258009%2E3735812%2Ei67chP

3. "Trump vowed to not cut Social Security and Medicare — hours before proposing just that," Vox, February 10, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/117137?t=10&akid=258009%2E3735812%2Ei67chP

4. "These Are the Youngest States in America," Time, November 3, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/117139?t=12&akid=258009%2E3735812%2Ei67chP

Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your ongoing support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us?

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