JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Three young voters joined News4JAX to discuss President Joe Biden’s first speech since announcing he would not seek reelection.
Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country’s democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Adea McDonough, Sierra McCahon, and Emilia Shepard shared different political ideologies.
Ariel Schiller: I’ll start off with Adea, can you tell me what your reactions to President Biden’s speech were?
Adea: I’m feeling very proud. I’m feeling honored that he’s passing on the torch to a younger generation and that he realized we weren’t excited about 78 to 80-year-old men who were running for president and that we’re ready for someone who is younger and has a fresh perspective, so I’m very proud of him that he recognized that and was willing to take a step back and pass on that torch.
Ariel: Sierra, what were your reactions?
Sierra: I think a sign of a good leader is knowing when to step down, and I think that this moment is something that I think both parties can learn from because we do have a lot of lifelong politicians. I know that me personally as a younger voter, I feel like there are a lot of people making laws that will impact me but are not going to impact them. So I think that he is setting a good example of when knowing to step down because really at the end of the day you need to be uplifting the next generation. You need to make sure that they have a seat at the table. For so long I think young people have not had a seat at the table because of all these lifelong politicians.
Ariel: Emilia, what were your thoughts on the speech tonight?
Emilia: Honestly, I had a difficult time watching it I personally think that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris during his term have been incredibly dishonest and this is something that could have happened four months ago. I mean Joe Biden was already polling down Donald Trump. There were already complaints about his age and whether we think that plays a factor in whether or not he’s going to win the presidency but this could have been done a while ago and if I were a Democrat, I would feel incredibly kind of like backhanded and expecting one candidate and then getting another with that being said I still think it’s going to be a pretty tight race.
Ariel: Adea were there any concerns that you heard from President Biden tonight?
Adea: The only concern that I have is for him and his health. I’m very excited about Kamala Harris being the new nominee. I’m very excited that it is going to be potentially the first president who is a woman and of South Asian descent. I feel invigorated, I’m ready to work towards getting her elected and working towards helping her campaign. And I am really hoping that this turns Florida blue.
Ariel: Sierra same question. Are there any concerns about President Biden’s speech tonight?
Sierra: Yeah, I think I’m really on both sides. We’ve seen a lot of talk about unity, but quickly backtracked. You know, I’ve listened to like tonight, you know, that was a great speech. But if we really want to promote unity, we need to keep that going. I think too often, in our political climate, people just go straight to the throat. They’ll say unity, and then go straight to the jugular again. And I think that that’s a really big problem, because it divides our communities. You see a lot more people not surrounding themselves with anyone who has a different stance, you go on social media, and you’ll see constant fighting. And I think that in order to really unify the country, I think that there needs to be more bipartisanship, I think there needs to be more listening. And so I am hopeful that Kamala will bring that in. I know that is that is going to be a challenge for any politician right now to do that. Because that’s not what is, you know, trending necessarily all the time. But that is my biggest concern, I will say that, I’m just concerned about who her VP could be. I do have questions about what that would look like. I know that there’s a several contenders out there. But me personally, I would like to see her with someone like Andy Beshear from Kentucky. I’m from the south, I think too often southern voices are left out of the conversation. So I really think that that would be another concern of mine, too, is that that Southern voice is left out.
Watch the president’s address below:
Ariel: Emilia, I know you said if you were a Democrat you would have been upset by this move. Were there any concerns just as an everyday American that you heard from President Biden tonight?
Emilia: Right, so one of my biggest concerns just recently and in the past has been the political polarization and the jobs [...] but even before when it was Trump and Biden, I would have considered Trump the more moderate candidate and now that Kamala has entered the race, she’s even more leftist than Biden is so I’m interested in seeing how that plays out and how she’s going to deviate her policies. I’m almost wondering if Biden just acted as kind of a filter to what Kamala might have been promoting behind the scenes.
Ariel: Interesting… So, for you, does this change anything going forward to the November election now that President Biden has stepped down?
Emilia: No, I don’t think that I’ve changed my mind since 2020. I always knew I was going to vote for Trump in the next election.
Ariel: Sierra, do you have anything that has changed for you going forward to the November election?
Sierra: Yeah, I think one thing that has changed for me is that there’s going to be a woman on the stage talking about women’s right, and I think that’s very different than seeing Joe Biden and Donald Trump talk about women’s rights because that’s not something that they experience. So, my number one concern going into this election is about a woman’s right to choose, and I do think that Kamala can be a great advocate for that. I think ultimately at the end of the day I’m really eager to see whether she officially gets the nomination at the convention and then I would like to see her on a debate stage.
Ariel: Adea, same question, does this change anything for you?
Adea:This makes me feel like I have hope for the first time in a very long time. Biden was not exciting to me Kamala Harris…I strongly disagree with Trump being the moderate candidate. There is nothing moderate about this man. He wants to eradicate women’s rights. I am not okay with that. He wants to get rid of social security, you can read project 2025, he is getting rid of so many government programs that are very important.
Emilia: Have you read Project 2025?
Adea: Absolutely.
Emilia: All 900 pages?
Adea: No I have not read all 900 pages.
Sierra: I have, but I also read when a law goes into effect I read the bill.
Emilia: Trump has also come out and said that he has never read Project 2025.
Adea: I believe he’s never read it, absolutely the man does not read but besides that Kamala Harris in my opinion is definitely the more moderate pick. I see a future for America, a stronger government, stronger unity between others, and I think this is going to bring America together. I’m ready to work for her campaign and I’m very excited for what the future holds.