President Joe Biden and other prominent political leaders attended a Monday night rally on September 13, 2021 at Long Beach City College in support of Governor Gavin Newsom less than one day before the California recall election.
The Liberal Arts Campus and the surrounding neighborhood were shut down Monday, early afternoon in preparation for a Stop the Republican Recall campaign event.
Local residents, as well as Long Beach City College students, gathered in support for Governor Newsom. We heard from community leaders, state representatives, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, as well as, President Joe Biden, who stressed the importance of voting against the recall and opposing the strongest Republican candidate, Larry Elder.
Members of Governor Newsom’s administration, state congressmen, the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Jamie Harrison, as well as Senator Alex Padilla spoke at the rally.
Mayor Garcia addressed the crowd urging voters to vote No on the recall, arguing that, “our values and our democracy are under attack.”
Mayor Garcia thanked Governor Newsom as well as President Biden for their response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and criticised Larry Elder for his stance on the pandemic along with his views on women’s rights and social justice.
Later, Governor Newsom took the stage and began stirring the crowd by comparing his opponents policy positions and attitude to former president, Donald Trump. Newsom claimed, “We may have defeated Donald Trump, but we haven’t defeated trumpism.”
Newsom stressed the importance of confronting climate change by highlighting the recent wildfires in Northern California that have burned over 2.2 million acres this year.
Biden was then introduced and began his speech by praising California as the most diverse state in the nation and for having the largest economy.
He went on to argue the importance of this election stating, “The decision you’re about to make is going to have a huge impact on California and it’s going to reverberate across the nation.”
Inside the event, crowds of supporters were receptive to the speeches of the politicians. At the same time, crowds of protestors outside were loud enough to be heard over the course of the rally.
Regarding the safety of the event amidst COVID-19, vaccinations and masks were required for attendees.
When asked why the city of Long Beach was selected as one of the final stops for the campaign, Newsom’s team shared that Southern California was pivotal because of the high-density population of voters.
The closing message from the Newsom campaign focused on protecting diversity, our climate, worker’s rights, as well as women’s reproductive rights which according to the Governor will be, “All at risk if we do not turn out for this recall tomorrow.”