El Paso political party leaders split over 1st presidential debate

EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) — El Paso political party leaders are reacting after the first presidential debate raised concerns, especially about President Joe Biden’s performance and age.

“We know that the performance did struggle a little bit. Obviously. The president apparently was dealing with a cold,” said Michael Apodaca, chairman for the El Paso County Democratic Party.

Biden’s performance during the debate rose new worries for his party, with critics wondering if he is able to lead the nation for another term given his age.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump faced heat over alleged misleading statements he made and for dodging direct questions. The El Paso County GOP chairman said while Trump has a history of “exaggerating,” this should not dissuade voter’s trust.

“The amount of, let’s say, exaggerations are in just total contrast to statements like Biden said. Nobody has died on my watch in the military; this is a total lie. Saying that the inflation that he received was terrible, when he came to office, that’s another little lie that you cannot deny the numbers are there,” said Jorge Gonzalez, chairman for the El Paso County GOP Party.

Apodaca said on a local level, his team is going to work to remind voters what Biden has accomplished over the past four years and lay out the bigger picture.

“There’s more on the ballot than just an 81-year-old man. There’s education on the ballot. There’s health care on the ballot. There’s women’s choice on the ballot,” Apodaca said.

Gonzalez said his party believes Trump does not need help to get back into the Oval Office.

“I believe that Trump is on the right track. I believe that he is on point mentioning the illegal immigration that is affecting the country. He is doing what he needs to do in order to be able to enter into the minds of people that are indecisive,” Gonzalez said.

Both Biden and Trump are each party’s presumptive nominees, but their names will be officially on the November ballots after the Democrat and Republican national conventions later this summer.

A second presidential debate is scheduled in September.

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