Harris vs Trump: The Presidential Debate Through the Eyes of Santa Monica
On the evening of Sept. 10, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump participated in a presidential debate. The event was highly anticipated by citizens of Santa Monica, young and old, Democrat and Republican, and everyone in between.
The Westside Democratic Headquarters opened up a space on Third Street Promenade to sell Kamala Harris and Tim Walz 2024 merchandise, recruit volunteers, host talks, train staff and volunteers, and raise grassroots support. It was here that the Democratic watch party was hosted.
The colorfully decorated space held a large gathering of registered Democratic voters who hold strong opinions about the campaign as a whole.
Chairwoman of Westside Democratic Headquarters, Jane Wishon, spoke about the importance of having a black woman running for the presidency. Wishon believes that Harris poses a big and positive change in the Democratic party just by simply running. Wishon said, “I do believe that Kamala coming into the race the way she did has really breathed new life into the Democratic Party that will make it motivated.”
Wishon’s focus parallels Harris’ in giving support and a platform for younger and middle class people to thrive. She believes that there’s importance and power in those two groups, which is what VP Harris has spoken so openly about throughout the debate. Wishon said, “So I think she is very capable. And of course, she's local for us. So, I have seen her. I have seen her work,” in reference to Harris being more knowledgeable and connected to grassroots issues.
Wishon continued on and said, “She's just talking about [the] middle class, because we do need to rebuild our middle class. We need people your age to be able to find jobs where you can buy a starter home or buy a condo and work your way up to, you know, the kind of land ownership that creates generational wealth, and we need people to be able to find housing.”
Inside the space stood dozens of Democratic supporters; outside, a protest in support of a ceasefire in Gaza.
Audra and Edward Estelle were two of the younger attendees, looking for answers about current overseas conflicts. Audra said, “I wanted to know their [Trump’s and Harris’] stance on the whole Israeli conflict.” Edward followed up about both the Russian and Palestine conflicts, saying, “Both of those conflicts could mean the end of the world. So when people say, ‘How important is this election?’ We're facing annihilation of the world… Who are we negotiating with? The ceasefire with? Who? With terrorists?”
Wishon and Cara Robin spoke on the topic of overseas conflict. Both women came to an agreement that the current administration has no balance and believe that Trump’s actions as president were all internally motivated. Robin spoke about a political split in the government, which both women believe is holding back important decisions to be made. Wishon said, “Well, I mean, our mission is to flip the House of Representatives and hold the Senate and then elect Harris and Walz to the White House. You know, that's our mission, because we've seen that government right now, government doesn't work with the split.”
She continued on explaining, “Americans like to have the houses of Congress be held by a different party than the presidency, because they think that requires more moderation, that it requires them to negotiate and to come together in order to pass legislation. But what we're seeing in the current environment is that, frankly, the Republican Party will cut off their noses to spite their face.”
Just two miles away from Third Street, the Santa Monica Republican Women Federated hosted their own watch party at Busby’s West.The sports bar was packed with registered Republican voters, many in support of Trump and hoping to catch Harris in a lie. Just like the Democratic watch party, this event was filled with high emotions and polarizing support for one candidate.
The event organizer for the night goes under an alias of Joan Rogers.
Rogers strongly believes that Republican voters need a voice in a city assumed to be completely blue. She said, “Each and every reaction must have an opposite reaction to their political opinions.” The Santa Monica Police Department themselves had advised Republican attendees to avoid sharing the location and details about the Headquarter of the Santa Monica Republican Women Federated due to concern over police response time. Rogers stated that her goal isn’t to turn California red, but rather to become a swing state in hopes of giving more diversity in power and voices.
Rogers is in the minority of citizens within Santa Monica who share similar perspectives and opinions with former president Donald Trump. She believes Kamala Harris’ racial background is questionable, and went on to describe VP Harris describes her, “Looks whiter than Trump.” Rogers claims that there should be tighter border control, how she feels that Kamala Harris had weak answers on the topic and has failed to do enough to control the flow of immigrants, despite admitting to being an illegal immigrant from Canada herself. She had children in the U.S. giving her the opportunity to stay, but didn’t try to become a legal citizen until the events of September 11, 2001.
Another attendee, under the alias of Remy Park, shared his perspective as a black 30-year-old Republican voter, and former educator. Park shared similar sentiments with regards to immigration, believing that there is too much of a parallel between slavery and the use of immigrants to do unwanted jobs. His solution is to lower wages, ban labor strikes, and stop questioning labor practices.
Park expressed a strong distaste for the opposing candidate, stating that Harris poses a threat to black people in America. He believes that Harris shouldn’t win because of a race preference, and that Harris controls voters. His view is that Trump will save black people in America, while Harris will kill black babies.
Park is admittedly a son of a single, black, liberal mother and decided to vote for Trump in 2016 out of spite. He believes there should be room for black Republican men to exist so that black people can thrive. Park said, “I don’t know about white voters as a black man. I think white people need to vote for Trump to make white people great again. Black people need to vote for Trump so that the white man can [make] black America great again.”
Park stood strongly in his opinion that Trump makes America stronger, while the current administration makes America weak, leaving us vulnerable to more wars. His response is to bring Trump back into office to prevent a war as a result of the Ukraine and Russia conflict.
The rest of the watch party at Busby’s then became rowdy and energized, full of cheers for Trump, and heckles for Harris. Some people said, “I hope you liberals listen up!” when Trump spoke, while others said “First she’s Asian, and now she’s black!” or “Word salad!”
Each person is tied to their opinions, so much so that watch parties became a thing, and have been loudly participated in. Both political watch parties carried on into the night full of passion, and those in attendance left with a sense of pride and excitement. Whether Republican or Democratic, both sides believe that the stakes are high and voices must be heard. It’s up to the citizens of Santa Monica to take part in the upcoming election by casting their vote this November.
Make sure to register and vote at www.vote.gov by Nov. 5th to secure your voice.