Weekly Roundup: Trump on the Hill, older voters in Florida

This episode delves into former President Trump's recent visit to Capitol Hill and its political implications, as well as a segment on older voters in Florida and their potential impact on upcoming elections.

1. Trump's visit to Capitol Hill symbolizes a significant unification within the Republican Party.
2. Older voters in Florida, particularly those above 65, are a crucial demographic in the presidential elections.
3. Economic concerns and social security are pivotal issues for older voters.
4. There is a noticeable shift in the political allegiance of older voters, potentially affecting future elections.
5. The episode provides insights into the strategies of both major political parties to court these influential voter groups.

1: Trump's Capitol Hill Visit

The chapter discusses Trump's visit aimed at rallying Republican unity and planning the 2025 agenda, featuring key insights from political analysts. Deirdre Walsh: "It was more of a political rallying event than a policy discussion."

2: Older Voters in Florida

Focuses on the political behavior of older voters in Florida, highlighting their concerns about the economy, healthcare, and social security. Deirdre Walsh: "Older voters are engaged and have specific concerns that influence their voting decisions."

1. Stay Informed on Political Agendas: Understanding the agendas of political figures and parties can help in making informed voting decisions.
2. Engage in Community Discussions: Participate in local community discussions to voice concerns and stay updated on political movements.
3. Fact-Check Political Claims: Always verify the authenticity of political claims, especially during election seasons.
4. Educate Others: Share your political knowledge and insights with peers, especially those in key demographic groups like older voters.
5. Participate in Elections: Every vote counts, and participating in elections is a direct way to influence political outcomes.

Donald Trump returned to Capitol Hill for the first time since his supporters disrupted the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2021. The event was a clear demonstration of how the party has coalesced entirely behind him.

And voters over 50 are an essential part of both candidates' strategies. We traveled to Florida to speak with them about the issues they care about most.

This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, campaign correspondent Franco Ordoñez, congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh, and national political correspondent Don Gonyea.

The podcast is produced by Jeongyoon Han, Casey Morell and Kelli Wessinger. Our intern is Bria Suggs. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

People

Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Franco Ordonez, Asma Khalid, Deirdre Walsh

Companies

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Guest Name(s):

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Content Warnings:

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Amiel and Patrick
Hi, this is Amiel and Patrick in Los Angeles, California. We just finished 545 miles of cycling from San Francisco to LA to raise money to help end AIDS.

Asma Khalid
It is 1206 p. Pm eastern time on Friday, June 14, Flag Day.

Amiel and Patrick
By the time you hear this, we.

Deirdre Walsh
Will have hung up our bikes and.

Amiel and Patrick
Put on our dancing shoes. Happy Friday, y'all.

Oh, my God. How do you have energy to dance?

Asma Khalid
What do you say? I feel like my legs would be limp.

Hey, there. It's the NPR Politics podcast. I'm Asma Khalid. I cover the White House.

Franco Ordonez
I'm Frank Ordonez. I cover the campaign.

Amiel and Patrick
And I'm Deirdre Walsh. I cover Congress.

Asma Khalid
And we begin our Friday roundup today with the news of Donald Trump's visit to Capitol Hill this week. It was his first trip there since the January 6 riot. And Deirdre, I want to begin with you because you cover Congress. Tell us a bit about what this visit was for. What was the purpose of it?

Amiel and Patrick
Well, top congressional republicans said they invited Trump to talk about planning their agenda for 2025.

Obviously, republican leaders are hoping to retake control of the Senate, grow their majority in the House, and elect Trump and have this full control, if you will, of two branches of government to enact their agenda. It didn't end up being a lot of policy talk. I think it was more of a political rallying event to put out this message that the Republican Party is unified around former President Trump. And they're headed into the elections and they're all on the same page.

I think the image that sort of captures where the Republican Party is today is this picture of Mitch McConnell shaking hands with former President Trump. Remember, after the attack on the Capitol on January 6, McConnell basically said Trump was practically and morally responsible for the attack. He doesn't talk to him. He hasn't talked to him in almost four years. He did endorse him back in March, but he largely deflects questions about Trump regularly on Capitol Hill. But it is a image that speaks to where the Republican Party is today. It is Donald Trump's party.

Franco Ordonez
I mean, let's just remember that, you know, since the primaries, Trump has been calling for Republicans to rally around him. And obviously, they were very reluctant to do that. So, you know, this meeting, this visit was kind of vindication for Trump or a culmination of those efforts for months and months and months of saying that the party needs to unite and not only unite, but get behind him. And it was very clear yesterday that the party was behind him. When you saw them in the room and you saw the strong applause, the huge smiles, many of the people in the room were very top likely VP candidates. And you have Mitch McConnell, who was the reluctant bride per se, saying, look, he said he was going to support who the Republicans, republican voter support. And that's Donald Trump. And now you have the two of them coming together. And, I mean, this is what Trump's wanted for a long time, and now he's getting it.

Asma Khalid
So what was Trump's message to his party yesterday?

Amiel and Patrick
A lot of it was about party unity. I mean, he talked about how they're all on the same page and they're moving forward to win in November.

Donald Trump
There's tremendous unity in the Republican Party.

We want to see borders. We want to see strong military.

We want to see money not wasted all over the world.

Asma Khalid
And so it sounds like Republicans have this vision that Donald Trump will potentially retake the White House in November, but also that Republicans will retake control of the Senate so that they can enact this broader agenda. How does the map look in terms of Republicans being able to retake control of the Senate?

Amiel and Patrick
I mean, Republicans have a lot of opportunities. Remember, they only need to pick up a seat and they can retake control of the Senate majority. So I think they're hoping to pick up Montana. They're looking at Ohio.

Republicans think they can knock off Sherrod Brown, the Democrat there. And Nevada is another state where Republicans hope to knock off a Democrat. So the map is looking favorable for Republicans.

They also have an opportunity in Maryland, which is a blue state. But a very popular former republican governor, Larry Hogan, is running in an open seat there.

And Trump essentially endorsed him after this visit with Hill Republicans yesterday, which I don't necessarily think Larry Hogan welcomed.

Asma Khalid
Yeah, I was going to ask you, Franco, what is Trump's role in trying to help Republicans retake control of the Senate?

Franco Ordonez
I think he is trying to express the same kind of uniting message with Senate Republicans, with Republicans on Congress, that he wants them to return back to him. You know, Trump is Trump, and a lot of his goals are self centered. And I think you can see that in this as well if he helps Republicans get elected. That's why politicians give money to Senate Republicans, to House Republican races is so that they can get help back. And I think thats what Trump is doing in this case as well. But obviously, Hogan and Trump have had such hard, you know, a hard relationship. A difficult relationship. I found it fascinating that Trump was saying this. And also very interestingly and probably not surprisingly, Hogan, on the other hand, was still saying, I said before, Im not going to support Trump and Im not going to do it this time either.

Amiel and Patrick
And there were Republicans coming out of these meetings with Trump who were essentially saying that critics of Trump or critics of what happened on January 6 aren't really welcome in the party anymore. I mean, that is a marked departure from where this party was right after January 6. That was a moment where there were a lot of Republicans, including McConnell, openly criticizing Trump. But that window closed very quickly, and now the party is really fully behind him.

Asma Khalid
All right. We will keep an eye on all of that. Deirdre, we're going to let you go, but please don't go too far away because we're going to bring you back for can't let it go.

Amiel and Patrick
I'll be back.

Asma Khalid
Let's take a quick break, and then we'll talk about a key demographic in this year's presidential election, that is older voters.

Rachel Martin
David Lynch's films explore dark themes, but in a rare interview on wild card this week, he says he's remarkably content. And you can be, too.

Franco Ordonez
We're supposed to be like little dogs when our tail is wagging and being happy. Little smiles on our face all day long. This is the way it's supposed to be.

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Asma Khalid
And we're back. And we're joined now by our colleague Don Gagne. Hey there, Don.

Deirdre Walsh
Hi there.

Asma Khalid
And Don, I'm so grateful that you're with us because you just got back from a trip to Florida, where you were reporting on older voters. And, you know, on this show, we've talked a lot about younger voters. Also, of course, a key voting coalition in any presidential election cycle. Donna, I want to be clear. We know definitionally what we mean when we talk about older voters. So what do you mean? What's the age demographic here?

Deirdre Walsh
We were looking mostly at people 50 plus for this particular reporting trip.

Franco Ordonez
I mean, this was a huge group for Trump, you know, particularly like the 65 plus group. I mean, Trump, according to some polls, won this group by seven percentage points. In 2016. Biden did kind of narrow that gap.

Four years later, in 2020, Trump still won it. So it is really fascinating to watch kind of this evolution because there are a number of polls that show that Biden is now ahead.

And it has been an opportunity that they're seeing as they've been herding with younger voters. This older generation has excited them. And that's why you're seeing, actually this week a big push from the Biden campaign. The first lady, Jill Biden, is traveling the country, playing pickleball, going to bingo games, you know, sending a message and telling senior voters that they are important to the campaign.

Asma Khalid
Older voters tend to turn out frequently in presidential elections. They have a big voter turnout. So I'm curious what you were hearing.

Deirdre Walsh
When I was talking to voters mostly in and around Pinellas county, which is St. Petersburg, Clearwater over there on the Gulf side of the state, older voters were engaged. You never get an, oh, I'm not paying that much attention or oh, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I mean, I did talk to people who are undecided, but again, they are very engaged. They do talk about the things you would expect, protecting Social Security and Medicare. They talk about the economy. They also talk about what kind of world they feel like we're leaving for their kids and their grandkids. That's very much top of mind. I also heard people talk about character, and they were also pointing to former President Trump in that regard. And I talked to a lot of people, especially older women who raised reproductive rights and abortion as really important issues. This is a woman we met at a democratic meeting in Pinellas county. Her name is Sandra Gerrish. We asked what issues are important to her, and this is what she said.

Amiel and Patrick
The attack on women's rights is really frightening.

So I'm a mother of three and they're all in Pinellas county. And it's, it's scary to have women's rights taken away.

Deirdre Walsh
And Florida has recently enacted six week abortion ban that has been signed by the governor. And Gary said that alone is terrifying. She hearkens back to those early battles over abortion rights when she was very young, and she's kind of shocked that here we are in the middle of this fight again.

Asma Khalid
Don, I'm curious what other issues you heard about from some of these older voters. What were their top priorities?

Deirdre Walsh
I talked to a gentleman named Lewis Berwick. He is 81 years old. He was in the town of Dunedin, which is also in Pinellas county. He retired from Worcester, Mass. So he brought some of those Massachusetts sensibilities down with him.

He cited Social Security and protecting it. Again, no surprise there. But then he went into Donald Trump's character. Give a listen to Mister Berwick here.

Donald Trump
It concerns me greatly because Trump seems to create a situation where bigoted people have a tendency to feel I'm represented by Trump. Wow. And they can get away with being bigoted again.

So it's kind of scary to me.

Deirdre Walsh
And then he went on to say that he's worried about how this is going to play down the road in generations to come if people who have.

Donald Trump
That mentality are in control, it's going to be a disaster for my grandchildren and so forth. I mean, I'm 81. I don't know how many years I've got left, but I'm still hoping that I have at least ten years, more or more.

Asma Khalid
It's striking, don, to hear the reference to grandchildren, because I can't tell you the amount of times I heard republicans talk about their fears with their grandchildren during the 2016 election.

Deirdre Walsh
That's right. And again, now, these were two voters who are clearly going to be supporting Joe Biden that we bumped into in Pinellas county. And again, Pinellas county is one of those boomerang counties. It supported Barack Obama, then it supported in 2016, Donald Trump, then it supported Joe Biden last time. We don't know what it's going to do this time. We're just assuming it will be close. But I met a gentleman named Angel Cruz. He's 67 years old. He's a retired truck driver. He was playing with his grandkids in park in the town of Largo.

He is something you don't bump into a lot. He describes himself as a Republican, but he voted for Joe Biden in 2020. He says he's undecided this year, but definitely leaning towards supporting Trump. And he says it is all about the economy.

Donald Trump
Everything is all expensive right now. The people, even without they retire with a check, with Social Security, they cannot afford to buy everything. You know, before it was not like this, you know, and it seems like everything's going up, but nothing help out on the payment, you know, like in the Social Security payment and all that.

Deirdre Walsh
You can hear the frustration in his voice. You can also hear his grandkids playing, yeah, behind him there. But again, that is a Joe Biden 2020 vote. That sure feels like it's going to be a Donald Trump vote in 2024.

Asma Khalid
Franco, I want to ask you about what the Trump campaign is doing to court these kinds of voters, because you said earlier that Trump had a greater percentage of their support in the past. Certainly, if we look at the 2016 election cycle, but the Biden campaign is actively trying to court senior voters. They are trying to chip away. And what is the Trump campaign doing?

Franco Ordonez
I mean, the Trump message is, you know, speaking to those concerns that angel just brought up about the economy and the feelings about the economy. Now, of course, we've talked endlessly about the data points that show the economy is doing okay, that it's doing well, particularly with unemployment levels. But the reality is still a lot of people at least feel that the economy is hurting. They see their grocery bills rising, gas staying high, you know, people who may be on a fixed salary, fixed income, you know, those increased bills hurt a little more, have a little bit of a different impact. You know, the Trump campaign is making a very clear point that Trump is the better person for the economy and the economic issues. He has also talked about prescription drugs and efforts like those. And, you know, Biden has as well. But I think the large message from Trump is economic and who is better for the economy and your investments.

Asma Khalid
I want to ask you about the candidate's ages. Today is Donald Trump's birthday. He's turning 78. Joe Biden is 81 years old. Does that factor into how older voters are thinking about their choices?

Deirdre Walsh
The people I talked to this past week in and around Pinellas county, some of them said, oh, gee, wish we had some young blood in there. But nobody saw it as disqualifying and nobody was ready to say, boy, Joe Biden should just hang it up. Donald Trump, just a couple of years behind him, what are these guys doing? Again, maybe a little bit of frustration and readiness to look to the next generation. But again, these people see this as their choices. And for the most part, people see it as a pretty clear choice, and they're going to make their decisions.

Asma Khalid
All right, Don, thanks so much for joining us and bringing us all your fabulous reporting. Really appreciate it.

Deirdre Walsh
Thank you. Always a pleasure.

Asma Khalid
All right. Let's take a quick break. And when we get back, it's time for can't let it go.

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Asma Khalid
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Asma Khalid
And we're back, and Deirdre Walsh is back with us. Hey there.

Amiel and Patrick
Hey, guys.

Asma Khalid
So it is time now to end the week like we do always with can't let it go. That is the part of the show where we talk about the things that we just cannot stop thinking about, politics or otherwise. And I think I'm gonna kick it off today.

Carvana
Go ahead.

Asma Khalid
All right. So what I cannot let go of, and maybe you all knew this, but I feel ashamed to say I didn't know this cause I was a huge basketball player in my youth. And I realized this week, I heard all these tributes to Jerry west, who was this hall of fame basketball player who passed away this week. And I did not know that it was purportedly his logo that is on every basketball for the NBA logo. Apparently, the NBA has never actually admitted that this was him. But, you know, now there's all these debates about how you can use someone's likeness with their permission or not. And so I just thought, you know, here we all were giving tributes to Jerry west all the time, every time we play the ball. And we didn't even know. Cause I had no idea. I thought it was just a stencil of, like, a random character.

Franco Ordonez
I mean, I think for a long time, people figured it was Jerry West. Jerry west even said he knew it was him, though it wasn't officially declared, as you point out. But, I mean, I think a lot of people felt it was a tribute to him without acknowledging it directly.

Asma Khalid
It kind of stinks, though, that he was never actually acknowledged officially during his lifetime.

Franco Ordonez
You know, I kind of agree. I do think, you know, like when Jerry west would talk about it or when he did, the few times that he did, he said he didn't really like the attention, that he had gotten enough attention.

He had a very, very humble kind of response to it, you know, kind of the response of an earlier era. You wouldn't expect necessarily to hear that today.

Amiel and Patrick
I also didn't realize how much of his career spanned all these different events, the Olympics, his career in the NBA. And then afterwards, it's just like he's one of those figures that obviously towers over the league.

Asma Khalid
All right, so here's to you, Jerry Wist. All right. What about you, Franco?

Franco Ordonez
What? I can't let it go. And I really think that a lot of people are not going to let it go. And I want credit for this when Pixar decides to turn this into a movie, but this story of the three legged lion and his brother who crossed this crocodile.

Asma Khalid
Wait, there's a three legged lion?

Amiel and Patrick
I do not heard about this.

Asma Khalid
I have not heard this. Franco, tell us more.

Amiel and Patrick
Is there a video?

Franco Ordonez
There is video from a drone. So I am not writing a script here. I'm telling a true story about this three legged lion in Uganda and his brother who tried to cross over a river that was about a mile long. They took him several tries to do it. The first time, kind of like hippos were on the attack and almost got him another one. Like, I think crocodiles were on there.

They made it.

And I just think it is such a powerful, such a powerful story that everyone can relate to. And how can this not be a Pixar movie?

Asma Khalid
Wow. Okay. So I am googling this, and apparently there is a story. So I'm just fact checking you.

Franco Ordonez
When I first read the story, I was like, how do these guys know that? Scientists staking this place out?

Amiel and Patrick
I mean, what, must have been attacked or something.

Franco Ordonez
So, yes, essentially they got pushed off the territory that they were on. They were attacked, and it would have been dangerous to stay over there. You know, they're looking across the river and they hear, according to the scientists here, they hear female lions on the other side of the river. So they decide to make the track and go over. And a scientist who wasn't directly involved with this, and I know this is a family podcast, this may have to be cut out of the Pixar movie, but was asked, why would they do this, risk their life? These are cats, remember? They don't like water. Why would they go swim across a mile?

And the scientists are like, well, sex.

So, I mean, I just find it, like an amazing story of, you know, survival of biology, of, you know, I just. I think it's. Oh, and I should also note, allegedly, this is a record distance crossing for a lion.

Amiel and Patrick
Wow.

Asma Khalid
All right. What about you, Deirdre?

Amiel and Patrick
The thing that I can't let go of this week is this graduation speech. And I love graduation season.

Asma Khalid
I love it. I think I know where you're going.

Amiel and Patrick
That was done by Roger Federer, who, I have to admit, I'm more of a Rafa Nadal fan.

And I thought, why is Roger Federer invited to give a commencement of speech? He didn't go to college. He started competing professionally as a teenager. So he gave this commencement speech at Dartmouth College. And I think that it was a fascinating speech. And I think it was, like, such a great message for people graduating from college to hear from this guy that most people think was just this amazing winner. He had all these championships, and he focused a lot on losing and the fact that he won, in his words, almost 80% of his matches. But he said the thing that people don't realize is that he lost 54% of the points in those matches. He won 54% of the points. So think about that. He almost lost as much as he won and what he learned from that.

Roger Federer
The truth is, whatever game you play in life, sometimes you're going to lose a point, a match, a season, a job.

It's a roller coaster with many ups and downs, and it's natural. But negative energy is wasted energy. You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That is, to me, the sign of a champion.

Asma Khalid
I love this. We actually shared it on our family group, WhatsApp chat. We have one of those because I used to play tennis as well. I like one of these. I did not know that, Deirdre. But you do lose a lot of points in tennis, but you can still win.

Amiel and Patrick
And then what do you take away when you lose so much? I think there's this whole idea of a successful failure that you learn a lot more from your failures in life. And I think that people who are graduating from college, there's all these moments about how well you did and what accomplishments you have, but you're just starting your journey. And I think about all the times that I've failed since I graduated from college, and I think I learned more from them than the good times.

Asma Khalid
All right, well, on that note, let's leave it there for today. Our executive producer is Muthuni Muturi. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our producers are Jung Yoon han, Kacey Morell and Kelly Wessinger. Our intern is Brea Suggs. Special thanks to Lexi Schapitl and Megan Pratt. I'm Asma Khalid. I cover the White House.

Franco Ordonez
I'm Franco Ordonez. I cover the campaign.

Amiel and Patrick
And I'm Deirdre Walsh. I cover Congress.

Asma Khalid
And thank you all, as always, for listening to the NPR Politics podcast.

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