BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Today local people reacted to what they saw in last night’s debate.
“I will say that it’s a shame in a country of 330 million people, that these are the choices that we have,” said Taylor Evans of Stowe.
Many shared sentiments about Thursday’s historic presidential debate. Age was a standout concern.
“Biden’s an old man and shouldn’t be doing nothing, let alone carrying that football… I knew he was going to screw up talking, he don’t know how to talk. He’s too old. It’s sad,” said Rusty Young of Burlington.
“I’m concerned about both or finesses. You know, they’re, they’re both older people. I think that, you know, President Biden to serve the country well. Right now it seems like he is the democratic choice.” said Evans.
Political pundits and Vermonters also highlighted possible cognitive concerns for President Biden. “Somebody’s got to be sitting here telling him what to say or what to do because he can’t do anything on his own. He doesn’t remember his name, I don’t think.,” says Mike Bezio of Burlington.
Joan Shellito of Pensacola, Florida says, “Many people may or may not know he was born with a stuttering problem and he’s tried many over the years to overcome it and he does very well. And I had no qualms about that.”
Some voters year for more than a rematch of 2020′s election.
“I plan to vote for Joe Biden. I did before. lesser of two evils in my opinion, but I definitely am not happy about it. I wish there was a better option,” says Shannon O’Connor of Winooski.
Middlebury College political scientist Matt Dickinson says the message appears clear coming out of the debate.
“This was by no means a slam dunk when based on Trump’s performance so much as it was a potentially dismal performance by the incumbent president. That really is the message that I think most people are going to take away from this debate,” says Dickinson.
Dickinson also says the real winner of the debate could be Robert F. Kennedy Jr. because if last night convinced anyone that both candidates are not up for the job, he’s the strongest third-party candidate.