President Joe Biden and Donald Trump squared off in the first presidential debate of 2024, and their bizarre back-and-forth led many to wonder if either is a viable candidate.
The Thursday debate marked the first time a standing president and former president engaged in a debate. Biden, 81, and Trump, 78, discussed hot-topic issues such as immigration policy, abortion rights, the economy and the Biden administration’s handling of the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Both candidates failed to answer many of the questions. But the attention was less on policy and more on Trump’s falsehoods and inflammatory rhetoric, as well as Biden’s hoarse speech and visibly declining health.
Boyle Heights resident Ana Maza watched the debate and said both candidates left her disillusioned and in shock. “It’s ridiculous. Neither one of them is competent,” Maza said.
When asked whether she was going to vote for Biden or Trump, Maza didn’t hesitate to share her opinion. “I’m not voting for either one,” Maza said. “Hell no.”
Among Trump’s false and misleading claims, he accused immigrants of taking “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs” away from U.S. citizens. But economists disagree. According to The Washington Post, the U.S. job market remains strong for all workers, in part because of an influx of new immigrants that have filled labor shortages.
Trump also brazenly claimed that migrants are “killing our people in New York, in California, in every state in the union” and that Biden’s immigration policies have led to an uptick in “migrant crime.” But 2024 crime data reviewed by NBC News shows overall crime levels decreased in cities that received the most migrants.
Carlos Ortez, owner of the restaurant Un Solo Sol on 1st Street, heard Trump’s immigration comments and said he thinks they’re a distraction from the country’s economic woes. “It’s not a surprise to me what Trump was defending,” Ortez said. “Since Reagan, they [politicians] love to blame the speechless, and the speechless are immigrants.”
President Biden failed to instill confidence in the American people as he struggled to make coherent arguments and looked confused. While supporting a person’s right to choose, he, on three separate occasions, said that the decision should be up to a doctor, rather than the pregnant person.
The president’s weak performance stirred concern among many and led some in his party to begin questioning whether he should be replaced on the ballot before the November election.
Despite Biden’s shortcomings in the first debate, Boyle Heights resident Karema Viquez still believes he is the candidate that will best support the needs of most Latinos.
“Latinos should unite and vote democratic because right now the situation is very chaotic. We don’t want our parents, grandparents and disabled people to lose their benefits and retirement because of Republicans,” Viquez said.
Carol Martinez, Evelyn Paz and Andrew Lopez contributed to this report.
We need to consider the President Biden was sick on the day of the debate with Trump. Biden‘s track record has demonstrated how he has supported min minorities, education, he helped with decreasing Covid thanks to all the vaccines and his swift decision-making, he has increased Employment in the last 40+ years more than any other president, everything that he has done on regards to creating more jobs in the US is because he has this foresight on creating more union jobs and giving us all freedom of a speech and to vote. We all have bad days, but destination , Trump would not care about our needs and he just would be taking all the money into his pockets and into big companies that don’t care about you and I. Trump and Republicans half placed three horrible judges in the Supreme Court and in other federal courts that have a tall women’s right to choose, Protecting the unhoused And removing medical care for all. By then has not let us down. We need to vote completely Democratic in order to push a progressive agenda that will empower latinos, minorities, women and children. Did you know that Biden wrote VAWA, the violence against women’s act? As a senator, he protected women from their aggressors, he housed them. He helped those women get education and get legal immigration rights for the m and their children to live in the US. I know this because I have worked with many families who have benefited from this. Also, the head start program has been revamped by President Biden and 30 years ago. He visited clinic in Los Angeles, such as the Venice Family Clinic, which was the first pilot program for early start nationwide along with other series. They provided healthcare, childcare, helped parents to get their GED, to complete college , and to be able to have a better life for themselves and their families. President Biden comes from the working class, yes, he is an elder. But he also respects us and takes good care of this country. We cannot be ageist. It’s the same as being racist or sexist .
The reason why Biden has run for president it’s because at this moment, we are in a dire threat for a dictatorship, by then is the one who will ensure to protect our rights. Make no mistake,Trump wants to remove the rights of many including the hard working Latinos and of their rights to vote and others.