While the billboard screens in Times Square on Sunday afternoon were surprisingly void of any mention of President Joe Biden’s decision to bow out of his reelection bid, New Yorkers themselves were not short of opinions.
A lone bar on the corner of 44th Street and Sixth Ave. showed flashes of the biggest news in the country: “Harris endorsed after Biden exit.” While the news is substantial, for many it was not surprising after weeks of speculation about whether the incumbent Biden could continue on through Election Day in his quest for a second term against Donald Trump.
Sheridan Richards, 24, shares that she was not shocked and was just waiting for the moment ever since Biden’s disastrous debate performance.
“We all knew he was gonna eventually drop out because he was just deteriorating and when you watch the debate, you already can tell he wasn’t quite there. So, I feel like a lot of people including myself were just waiting around for the news, and now that it’s happened, we are like finally,” Richards said.
Richards, who identified as a Democrat, added when it came to the presidential race, she wasn’t a fan of either candidate. Still, while she believes the dropout was a right move for the party, she thinks it took the president too long to make it.
“I don’t really like either candidate, but it’s better than him,” Richards said, “I think it might be the smartest move for the Democratic Party to [endorse Harris]. They don’t have a lot of time left to choose someone and they might as well choose somebody that a lot of people know. Because most people are not paying attention to politics like that deeply anyway.”
Josh Peterson, who says he leans left, agreed that it is the right move for Biden to call it quits. However, he also says he is not convinced Harris is the right person to take over the ticket.
“It was a 100% the right move,” Peterson said. “She’s very polarizing. I’m not that interested in her as a candidate, which seems like a rushed decision, but I suppose they know better than I do.”
Travis Evans was even less optimistic.
“We are f**ked,” Evans told amNewYork Metro puffing on a cigarette in the shadow of Times Square, saying the worst of Biden. “He was half-senile at this point.”
Evans said he worries for the state of the country, actively disliking both Democratic and Republican candidates with a passion. He says he wishes there was a viable third option.
“I think America needs to actually stand up and tell both parties to go to the rooms and contemplate what they’ve done, and they’re grounded,” Evans said. “We need to scrap this election and we need an emergency election session because this is not acceptable on either side.”
