Even in the heart The most Biden-loving part The Los Angeles County president has been facing outrage ever since he was removed from his position. Blatant failure a performance of last week’s debate,
“Biden should sit down, take his medicine and take a nap. His time is up,” said Daisy Williams, who voted for Biden in 2020 but said after watching last week’s debate she would not run in the November election. “I’ve never seen so much craziness in my life. We’re in trouble … That debate was a joke.”
Biden’s debate performance — in which he expressed disorienting, sometimes incoherent thoughts in a weak, raspy voice — has shaken even the most ardent Democrats. The party shuddered and its leaders hastily began to debate whether replace the current president On the ticket, voters in the deepest blue parts of Los Angeles County also considered Biden’s future.
California — and especially Los Angeles County, which gave Biden 71% support in 2020 — is a sea of support for the president. But some neighborhoods in Inglewood and South Central LA are even bluer, with over 94% support for the president in the 2020 election.
In a series of informal interviews, some residents of these areas said they would stand with the president, while others said they should let someone else, possibly Vice President Kamala Harris, run in place of former President Trump in November.
In the West Athens neighborhood south of Inglewood, where one precinct’s support for Biden reached 95% in 2020, Williams expressed disappointment in her options for the presidency. If Biden withdraws, she said she would reconsider her decision not to vote.
The 65-year-old certified nursing assistant described the choice as a choice between “a criminal and a person with dementia.”
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden does not have any form of dementia at a press briefing Tuesday
Biden has not publicly backed away from his commitment to run for re-election, though he has Reportedly discussed Whether or not you should step aside with your closest family members and advisors.
CNN poll The survey released Tuesday showed that 56% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning registered voters think their party would have a better chance of winning the election with a candidate other than Biden. First survey This news has been released after Trump defeated Biden in the debate.
(Faith Pinho/Los Angeles Times)
But Daniel Rodriguez, a Democrat who voted for Biden in 2020 and plans to do so again in November, was unimpressed by Biden’s shaky debate performance.
“I noticed that, but I think he has a lot of things on his mind,” Rodriguez said. “He’s overwhelmed.”
Rodriguez, 50, who cares for people ages 50 to 90, said his job is to advocate for the elderly and “support them 100%.” Rodriguez said his work has shown him that some elderly people remain mentally sharp, even if they can’t always express themselves well.
“I see people who have really good minds — they’re still moving forward, they’re still smart,” he said. “So don’t give up on (them), you know? … They have a right in this country.”
Janice Gatlin, 66, had the opposite reaction to the debate. She said she tried to turn away from the TV screen and Biden’s spectacular failure, but couldn’t help but watch the entire “disturbing” performance.
“Biden, he’s at that age now where it’s time to retire. Because he lost! I was embarrassed for him. It hurt me, because I voted for him,” she said. She added that Harris could be a good choice. “It’s time for her to step up,” Gatlin said.
Biden made several public appearances after the debate, including a lively speech he delivered at a rally in North Carolina the next day. Critics said he appeared more energetic because he relied on a teleprompter. But to Gatlin, that didn’t matter — he said the president’s debate performance showed he was no longer fit for office.
“He should step down and think about the country,” Gatlin said, adding that other countries are watching the US election closely. “Nobody is afraid of him. He’s not even talking in a loud voice – there’s no bass in his voice, nothing.”
(Faith Pinho/Los Angeles Times)
For Antianya Walker, 19, who says she will vote in her first presidential election this fall, the debate has made her choice simple: She’s voting for Trump.
The Los Angeles resident, who was running an errand at a local Big Lots, said she thinks Biden is against women’s rights. She blamed Biden for tightening abortion restrictions across the country — though Trump takes credit for appointing the conservative Supreme Court justices who led the overturning of Roe v. Wade, ending abortion access across the country.
Abortion is widely considered the ticket that won Democrats elections. But last Thursday, Biden struggled to articulate a clear vision for restoring access to abortion care across the country, instead using a confusing metaphor for the trimesters of pregnancy and obfuscating Democrats’ core issue. Walker said he stopped watching the debate after hearing Biden’s “terrible” response to the question.
“How can we trust a president who can’t even communicate properly?” Walker said. “I think Trump is our best option right now. I pray for America.”
(Faith Pinho/Los Angeles Times)
Still, in this bluest part of L.A. County, Biden has retained supporters, including people like Harvey Woodruff, a retired grocery store and security guard.
“He looked a little tired. The guy’s on the job, what do you expect?” Woodruff said, adding that he was grateful to Biden for steering the economy over the past four years. “Two thumbs up, excellent job. I see no reason why we can’t keep him there for another term.”
Woodruff said Trump is a major threat to the country’s democracy, adding that he hopes Trump will pardon him. his own criminal conviction If he were elected president.
Woodruff, 67, was riding his bike from his Inglewood neighborhood to Darby Park, where 95% of the vote went for Biden in 2020, to visit a friend at the beach. After watching Biden struggle in the debate, Woodruff said he was reminded to get checked out by his doctor.
