To the editor: Lorraine Ali is right to highlight Biden’s alarming embrace of Trump’s racism during the presidential debate and the failure of CNN moderators to call it out. This casual embrace should be alarming to Latinos and other people of color, as it puts our civil rights at risk and creates divisions between diverse communities.
Trump's racist rhetoric, such as spreading lies about dangerous immigrants taking jobs from black people and calling Biden Palestinian in order to dehumanize him, is terrifying. Let's not forget his vile comments calling Mexicans rapists and advocating banning Muslims from entering the United States.
Under Trump’s far-right administration, our hard-won civil rights and those of millions of Americans are in jeopardy, especially on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. Evidence of Trump’s threat to our civil liberties is evident in conservative laws restricting women’s reproductive rights, in Supreme Court justices he appointed himself, and in his support for white supremacists who tried to overturn the 2020 election.
For Biden to win the election, he must denounce Trump's racism and white supremacist views. In addition, Biden must actively engage with the Latino community, one of the most crucial voting blocs and the future of our nation.
Luis Alfredo Vasquez-Ajmac, Redondo Beach
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To the editor: Much has been written about last week’s presidential debate. What I find fascinating, perhaps tragic, is how the two parties and their constituents are handling the continuation of that event. There’s no question that President Joe Biden had a bad night. But that’s not the point.
On the one hand, Democratic leaders are asking reasonable questions that the adults in the room should be asking themselves. Is Biden’s age a factor? Based on what happened in the debate, can Biden beat Trump in the general election? Are there underlying issues we’re not aware of? Should the Democratic Party explore other candidates? And the press reports daily on this discourse within the Democratic Party.
On the other hand, what are Republican leaders asking Trump? That he is lying. He is a convicted felon for falsifying business records to cover up his scheme to corrupt the 2016 election, he was found liable for sexual misconduct, and both he and his company have been involved in civil lawsuits for financial fraud. He has been criminally charged in other cases that must go to trial. After Trump’s debate performance, and considering everything else, what reasonable and mature questions are Republican leaders asking? Why are they not questioning Trump’s candidacy?
Charles Martin, Santa Ana
