SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — Considering her choices in this year’s rapidly approaching presidential election, Rochelle Jones thinks both major party candidates should step aside.
“They just need to get somebody that’s going to run this country right, that don’t have any health issues, that care about us people,” the 39-year-old culinary worker at Michigan State University said this week.
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Christian Garrett talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Garrett said he is unsure of how he is going to vote, believing Trump is vindictive and Biden is incompetent to continue leading. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Pamela Pugh, a Democratic candidate for Michigan's 8th Congressional District and current member of the State Board of Education, talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Pamela Pugh, a Democratic candidate for Michigan's 8th Congressional District and current member of the State Board of Education, is pictured Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture. Pugh called Biden’s debate performance “beyond subpar,” and emphasized that Biden has “work to do in our communities” to earn another four years in office. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Craig Tatum, pastor for New Life Baptist Church Ministries, talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Tatum says many people he speaks with found Biden’s performance troubling but remain committed to voting Democratic after seeing Trump’s presidency and character. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Craig Tatum, pastor for New Life Baptist Church Ministries, talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Tatum says many people he speaks with found Biden’s performance troubling but remain committed to voting Democratic after seeing Trump’s presidency and character. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Ethan Williams talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Williams, who turns 18 before the election in November, says “In terms of best chance of beating Trump, it would have to be Biden. But I don’t like that fact.” (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Ethan Williams talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Williams, who turns 18 before the election in November, says “In terms of best chance of beating Trump, it would have to be Biden. But I don’t like that fact.” (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Pamela Pugh, a Democratic candidate for Michigan's 8th Congressional District and current member of the State Board of Education, is pictured, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture. Pugh called Biden’s debate performance “beyond subpar,” and emphasized that Biden has “work to do in our communities” to earn another four years in office. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Christian Garrett talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Garrett said he is unsure of how he is going to vote, believing Trump is vindictive and Biden is incompetent to continue leading. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Pamela Pugh, a Democratic candidate for Michigan's 8th Congressional District and current member of the State Board of Education, talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture. Pugh called Biden’s debate performance “beyond subpar,” and emphasized that Biden has “work to do in our communities” to earn another four years in office. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Craig Tatum, pastor for New Life Baptist Church Ministries, talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Tatum says many people he speaks with found Biden’s performance troubling but remain committed to voting Democratic after seeing Trump’s presidency and character. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
As President Joe Biden struggles to recover from a disastrous debate performance last month, he has argued that desires for him to leave the campaign are limited to his party’s “ elite.” But Jones’ sentiment reflects a more nuanced reality unfolding in some of the most politically competitive states, from here in Michigan to Pennsylvania and Nevada.
In interviews this week, many voters said they still support Biden. But they also expressed concern that a lack of enthusiasm for his candidacy could cause a lot of Democratic voters to stay home, handing the race to Republican Donald Trump. Some are concerned as well about the impact Biden’s continued candidacy would have on down-ballot races at a time when control of the U.S. House and Senate are also up for grabs.
Although Biden has gotten some of his strongest support in recent days from Black elected officials, many Black swing state voters said they were worried. Jones, who is Black, said she will probably vote for Biden when it comes down to it but feels he needs to address inflation, a top-of-mind issue for her.
The one unifying factor for most Democrats — elites and regulars alike — is the threat of a second Trump term. Biden has long argued that voters will reject Trump when faced with a one-on-one race, whatever their reservations about the incumbent.
Anxiety among rank-and-file voters comes as Biden fends off public and private pressure for him to relinquish the Democratic nomination and allow the party to field a different candidate to take on Trump in November. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday said merely “it’s up to the president to decide” if he should stay in the race, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch called on Biden to withdraw from the election, becoming the first Senate Democrat to do so, and celebrity donor George Clooney also said Biden should not run.
“What I hear more so from people of color is, ‘if not him, what’s the alternative?’” said Craig Tatum, a pastor and prominent Black leader in Saginaw, Michigan. He said many people he speaks with found Biden’s performance troubling but remain committed to voting Democratic after seeing Trump’s presidency and character.
A demographic microcosm of Michigan at large, Saginaw County is the only Michigan bellwether to side with the winner in the last four presidential elections. The county’s namesake city, population 44,000, is about half Black, while surrounding areas are predominantly Republican.
Trump had a slight lead over Biden in two national polls of voters conducted after the debate. One of the polls — conducted by SSRS for CNN — found that three-quarters of voters, including more than half of Democratic voters, said the party has a better chance of winning the presidency in November with a candidate other than Biden. Around 7 in 10 voters — and 45% of Democrats — said that.
Biden’s physical and mental ability is a reason to vote against him, according to the CNN/SSRS poll. And around 6 in 10 voters, including about one-quarter of Democrats, said that reelecting Biden as president this November would be a risky choice for the country rather than a safe one, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll. That poll also found that Democrats were split on whether Biden should remain the nominee.
Ethan Williams, who teaches at a summer education program in Saginaw, will turn 18 before the November election. He said he and his friends who watched the debate were shocked by what they saw.
“We were not excited to say the least,” he said.
Williams said he found the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity, Trump’s felony convictions and the manifesto for a second Trump term known as Project 2025 to be particularly alarming. He plans to vote for Biden despite his age but may focus more on local and state races.
“In terms of best chance of beating Trump, it would have to be Biden,” he said. “But I don’t like that fact.”
Pamela Pugh, a lifelong Saginaw resident running in the Democratic primary for a battleground congressional district in Michigan, demurred when asked whether Biden should be the Democratic nominee. She said down-ballot candidates like her will need to rely on themselves for voter turnout and to attract voters “who don’t believe that those at the top of the ticket represent them.”
Pugh called Biden’s debate performance “beyond subpar,” and emphasized that he has “work to do in our communities” to earn another four years in office.
Members of the influential Congressional Black Caucus and other Black activists in the Democratic Party have emerged as some of the most forceful backers of Biden remaining the party’s choice and staying on the ticket. In 2020’s Democratic primary, Black voters elevated Biden to victories in early primary states with overwhelming support in South Carolina, on Super Tuesday and in Midwestern states like Michigan.
As long as Black people and young people vote in strong numbers, Biden will win, said Brian Humphrey, a 62-year-old activist in Pennsylvania, who is Black. But he frets about younger voters — such as his granddaughters, one 18 and one 19 — who lack enthusiasm for a man four times their age.
“I’m a little worried right now, to be honest,” Humphrey said. “ You know, because of his age and things and my young grandkids telling me ‘he’s too old’ and ‘I’m not voting for that old man’, you know, trying to convince them that he’s the better of the two candidates."
For Alyse Sobosan, a school counselor in Las Vegas, the turmoil over Biden's debate performance is a distraction Democrats don't need right now.
“It’s taking away from the campaign and the real issues,” she said. “That’s all anyone can talk about, so it makes sense to me if he steps down.”
Despite the ambivalence and anxiety among so many Democrats, Biden retains support ranging from enthusiastic to resigned.
James Johnson, a retired public school teacher in Pennsylvania, said Biden’s performance was “difficult to watch” but “did not in any way deter my determination to vote for him and see him elected as the next president.”
Teresa Hoover, a Democrat who went to hear Biden speak Sunday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, agreed.
“He was the chosen candidate and I think at this point we’re just months away, it’s kind of hard to switch gears," Hoover said.
For all the consternation, the debate did not change the fundamental reality that the candidates are both unpopular and Americans are unenthusiastic about their choices.
“I couldn’t bring myself to watch the debate because I’m struggling with both candidates,” said Christian Garrett, a 26-year-old manager of a summer education program in Saginaw.
Garrett said he is unsure of how he is going to vote, believing Trump is vindictive and Biden is incompetent to continue leading.
“So that’s why I feel that this case has become a joke, because we as Americans have sat by and watched this just unfold," he said. “And it’s almost as if we don’t have the power when really the power lies in us.”
Cooper reported from Phoenix and Levy from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Associated Press writer Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
Christian Garrett talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Garrett said he is unsure of how he is going to vote, believing Trump is vindictive and Biden is incompetent to continue leading. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Pamela Pugh, a Democratic candidate for Michigan's 8th Congressional District and current member of the State Board of Education, talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Pamela Pugh, a Democratic candidate for Michigan's 8th Congressional District and current member of the State Board of Education, is pictured Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture. Pugh called Biden’s debate performance “beyond subpar,” and emphasized that Biden has “work to do in our communities” to earn another four years in office. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Craig Tatum, pastor for New Life Baptist Church Ministries, talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Tatum says many people he speaks with found Biden’s performance troubling but remain committed to voting Democratic after seeing Trump’s presidency and character. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Craig Tatum, pastor for New Life Baptist Church Ministries, talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Tatum says many people he speaks with found Biden’s performance troubling but remain committed to voting Democratic after seeing Trump’s presidency and character. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Ethan Williams talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Williams, who turns 18 before the election in November, says “In terms of best chance of beating Trump, it would have to be Biden. But I don’t like that fact.” (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Ethan Williams talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Williams, who turns 18 before the election in November, says “In terms of best chance of beating Trump, it would have to be Biden. But I don’t like that fact.” (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Pamela Pugh, a Democratic candidate for Michigan's 8th Congressional District and current member of the State Board of Education, is pictured, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture. Pugh called Biden’s debate performance “beyond subpar,” and emphasized that Biden has “work to do in our communities” to earn another four years in office. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Christian Garrett talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Garrett said he is unsure of how he is going to vote, believing Trump is vindictive and Biden is incompetent to continue leading. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Pamela Pugh, a Democratic candidate for Michigan's 8th Congressional District and current member of the State Board of Education, talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture. Pugh called Biden’s debate performance “beyond subpar,” and emphasized that Biden has “work to do in our communities” to earn another four years in office. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Dr. Craig Tatum, pastor for New Life Baptist Church Ministries, talks about voting in the November presidential election, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Saginaw, Mich. President Joe Biden says the pressure on him to end his reelection campaign is coming from Democratic Party “elites." But a sampling of voters and Democratic activists in several key swing states paints a far more complicated picture in the aftermath of Biden’s disastrous debate performance. Tatum says many people he speaks with found Biden’s performance troubling but remain committed to voting Democratic after seeing Trump’s presidency and character. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
President Donald Trump moved to end a decades-old immigration policy known as birthright citizenship when he ordered the cancellation of the constitutional guarantee that U.S.-born children are citizens regardless of their parents’ status.
Trump's roughly 700-word executive order, issued late Monday, amounts to a fulfillment of something he's talked about during the presidential campaign. But whether it succeeds is far from certain as attorneys general in 18 states and two cities challenged the order in court on Tuesday, seeking to block the president.
Here's a closer look at birthright citizenship, Trump's executive order and reaction to it:
Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen, regardless of their parents' immigration status. People, for instance, in the United States on a tourist or other visa or in the country illegally can become the parents of a citizen if their child is born here.
It's been in place for decades and enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, supporters say. But Trump and allies dispute the reading of the amendment and say there need to be tougher standards on becoming a citizen.
The order questions that the 14th Amendment extends citizenship automatically to anyone born in the United States.
The 14th Amendment was born in the aftermath of the Civil War and ratified in 1868. It says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Trump's order excludes the following people from automatic citizenship: those whose mothers were not legally in the United States and whose fathers were not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents; people whose mothers were in the country legally but on a temporary basis and whose fathers were not citizens or legal permanent residents.
It goes on to bar federal agencies from recognizing the citizenship of people in those categories. It takes effect 30 days from Tuesday, on Feb. 19.
The 14th Amendment did not always guarantee birthright citizenship to all U.S.-born people. Congress did not authorize citizenship for all Native Americans born in the United States, for instance, until 1924.
In 1898 an important birthright citizenship case unfolded in the U.S. Supreme Court. The court held that Wong Kim Ark, who was born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the country. After a trip abroad, he had faced denied reentry by the federal government on the grounds that he wasn't a citizen under the Chinese Exclusion Act.
But some advocates of immigration restrictions have argued that while the case clearly applied to children born to parents who are both legal immigrants, it’s less clear whether it applies to children born to parents without legal status.
Eighteen states, plus the District of Columbia and San Francisco sued in federal court to block Trump's order.
New Jersey Democratic Attorney General Matt Platkin said Tuesday the president cannot undo a right written into the Constitution with a stroke of his pen.
“Presidents have broad power but they are not kings,” Platkin said.
Not long after Trump signed the order, immigrant rights groups filed suit to stop it.
Chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts along with other immigrant rights advocates filed a suit in New Hampshire federal court.
The suit asks the court to find the order to be unconstitutional. It highlights the case of a woman identified as “Carmen," who is pregnant but is not a citizen. The lawsuit says she has lived in the United States for more than 15 years and has a pending visa application that could lead to permanent status. She has no other immigration status, and the father of her expected child has no immigration status either, the suit says.
“Stripping children of the ‘priceless treasure’ of citizenship is a grave injury,” the suit said. "It denies them the full membership in U.S. society to which they are entitled."
In addition to New Jersey and the two cities, California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin joined the lawsuit to stop the order.
President-elect Donald Trump, from left, takes the oath of office as Barron Trump and Melania Trump watch at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. flags around the Washington Monument are at full staff during the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. Flags are supposed to fly at half-staff through the end of January out of respect for former President Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A young man reacts to information on how to prepare for the upcoming changes to undocumented families living in the U.S., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Sonia Rosa Sifore and other anti-Trump protesters gather in Federal Plaza to rally for a number of issues, including immigrant rights, the Israel-Hamas war, women's reproductive rights, racial equality and others, on the day of President Trump's Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on birthright citizenship in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)