Residents of Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton were preparing to celebrate the most important American holiday on July 4, but many were also expressing concerns about the US president after his disastrous debate with Donald Trump last week.
“I think they never should have had this (debate),” Dennis Friesen, a 70-year-old retired food service worker, said Wednesday as he smoked a cigarette outside Whiskey Dick’s bar in a Pennsylvania coal mining town.
Scranton has long been the center of the political mythology surrounding Biden, reminiscing about his hard-working upbringing here, repaying his affection by naming an expressway after him and installing a life-size cardboard cutout of him at Hank’s Hoagies sandwich store.
But Pennsylvania remains a key battleground in the 2024 election, and national polls are flashing warning signs after Biden’s faltering performance against White House challenger Trump has sparked widespread nervousness over his ability to complete a second term.
“I think he can still do most of what he needs to do as president, but he doesn’t have the same awareness as he used to,” Friesen said of the 81-year-old president.
As far as alternatives go, Friesen said he’s concerned about Biden being replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris, as she has previously made comments about not seeking to pass legislation to help Black people.
However, like others in the city, he could name no one other than Harris to replace “Scranton Joe” at the top of the Democratic ticket.
‘Placeholder candidate’?
And the vice president found even more support elsewhere — such as outside the city’s Marketplace mall, where 21-year-old Silveira Cosarev was writing down voters’ names for the November election.
“Of course, I’m not impressed with Biden… He’s kind of like a placeholder candidate who will win (the election) and then put somebody else in place if he wants to step down,” he said.
“I would have no problem with Kamala (Harris) if she came forward. I’m completely anti-Trump.”
Others in the city supported Trump — and had their say on Biden, too.
“I think the way he speaks, it sounds like he has dementia (or) Alzheimer’s. It’s not nice at all,” said Sheryl Crouter, 33, who moved to Scranton from Queens, New York.
“When Trump was president, everything was a little bit more orderly and nobody messed with us. (Now) everything is scattered,” he said, as stallholders set up shops around him on the courthouse square for Thursday’s Independence Day celebrations.
Given Biden’s highly anticipated debate performance, during which he fumbled answers and lost his composure, allowing Trump to spew lies and misinformation unchallenged, they have raised questions about Biden’s standing away from public scrutiny.
A short walk from the fudge and rice pudding shops is the three-story wooden house with a neatly manicured front lawn where Biden grew up.
A small poster invites visitors to take a photo of the home from the street — though none of the neighboring homes feature a Biden-Harris campaign sign.
A few doors down from Biden’s former home, Jamie Hayes said she was “embarrassed” after Biden’s performance at the debate.
“I thought he wasn’t feeling well, and maybe he shouldn’t have gone on stage. He probably made the worst choice of the two (choices) — if he didn’t go on stage, I’m sure he felt he was backing down,” the 73-year-old grandmother said.
“(But) I believe he has surrounded himself with people who have similar views and can come forward,” he added.
“I’ve heard a lot about Kamala Harris, so I’ll support her.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
