To the editor: Lorraine Ali is right in highlighting the alarming acceptance of Trump’s racism during the presidential debate by Biden and the CNN moderators failing to call him out. This casual acceptance should be alarming for Latinos and other people of color, as it puts our civil rights at risk and creates divisions among diverse communities.
Trump’s racist rhetoric, such as spreading lies about dangerous immigrants taking jobs from Black people and calling Biden a Palestinian to dehumanize him, is scary. Let us not forget his vile remarks saying that Mexicans are rapists and advocating for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.
Under Trump’s far-right-wing White House, the hard-won civil rights and millions of Americans are in jeopardy, especially on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. The evidence of Trump’s threat to our civil liberties is evident in conservative laws to restrict women’s reproductive rights, by his appointed supreme judges and by his support for white supremacists who attempted to overturn the 2020 election.
For Biden to win the election, he needs to denounce Trump’s racism and white supremacist views. Furthermore, 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 is fascinating to me, maybe tragic, is how the two parties and their constituencies are handling the follow-up to that event. There is no question that President Joe Biden had a bad night. But that is not the point.
On the one hand, Democratic leadership is asking reasonable questions that adults in the room should have. Is Biden’s age a factor? Based on what happened at the debate, can Biden beat Trump in the general election? Are there underlying problems that we are not aware of? Should the Democratic party explore other candidates? And the press is reporting daily on this discourse within the Democratic party.
On the other hand, what is Republican leadership asking about Trump? Trump lies. He is a convicted felon for falsifying business records to conceal his scheme to corrupt the 2016 election, was found liable for sexual abuse, and both he and his company have been tied up in civil suits for financial fraud. He has been criminally indicted in other cases that have to go to trial. After Trump’s debate performance, and considering everything else, what reasonable, mature questions are Republican leaders asking? Why aren’t they questioning Trump’s candidacy?
Charles Martin, Santa Ana
