Gage Park leaders discuss Biden’s withdrawal

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – It was a beautiful and pleasant day in Gage Park. A perfect day to reflect on President Joe Biden’s exit from the 2024 race.

“We were just out and about today and I just saw it on my phone and, you know, I wouldn’t say it was a shock,” said Kit Grove, a park visitor. “Obviously, I don’t think the timing is great.”

One person was glad he was gone because of the war between Israel and Hamas.

“I probably would have voted for him before the war in Gaza,” said Jeremy Scott, another park visitor. “But after his, and the way he handled it, I wouldn’t vote for either one of those things. I think we should have more than two options to begin with.”

Another felt the debate and COVID diminished Biden’s chances of winning.

“Since the debate, it’s been a real challenge for him to keep going,” Tim Hersh said. “But he’s got a lot of determination and I think he really wanted to try to get through it. But now that he’s had COVID, I think that’s complicated things even more.”

Questions were also asked about the ages of Biden and Donald Trump.

“Biden is obviously 81, I think. Trump is 78,” Grove said. “Just, you know, not to be super dumb about it, but if I were hiring someone to run a business right now, I probably wouldn’t pick someone over 75.”

When asked if Kamala Harris would be a possible Democratic candidate, opinions were divided.

“Look, I would support Kamala Harris too,” Scott said. “I don’t know much about her administration, I just know she’s neither.”

“If you look at her record in the original primaries, you know, she was the first one to drop out, you know, on the Democratic side,” Hersh said. “She couldn’t get any fundraising support and she struggled a little bit with the campaign, but she probably learned a lot.”

The Democratic National Convention will take place from August 19th to 22nd. It will undoubtedly be a memorable one, and we will report on it as the time approaches.