President Joe Biden was met with protesters during his trip to California on Monday to campaign for Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom as he fights to remain in office.
Biden's motorcade was booed by a crowd of people as it drove to Newsom's final campaign rally at Long Beach City College's Liberal Arts campus and many protesters held signs criticizing COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Video of some protesters booing as the president passed by was shared on Twitter on Monday, while local media reported there were hundreds of protesters opposed to Biden and Newsom.
The footage, shared by Drew Hernandez of Real America's Voice (RAV), shows a large group of protesters shouting and jeering at Biden's motorcade.
The video appears to show a group of perhaps two hundred people. Some of them were holding signs critical of vaccine mandates, while others had signs taking aim at Biden himself. Some had U.S. flags.
That Twitter video had been viewed more than 299,000 times at the time of writing.
Hundreds of protesters had gathered at the corner of Clark Avenue and Carson Street which surround Long Beach City College's campus, according to Long Beach's Press-Telegram newspaper.
BREAKING: What appears to be Joe Biden’s motorcade BOOED massively by Patriots at Long Beach City College @RealAmVoice pic.twitter.com/04y06RlcJA
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) September 14, 2021
Biden was also met with other groups of protesters during his visit, with some carrying signs showing support for former President Donald Trump and calling for Newsom to be recalled. Reuters estimated that one group of demonstrators was around 200 people strong.
The president was also greeted by protesters during a visit to Idaho on Monday - his first since coming to office. More than 1,000 people gathered in the state capital of Boise on Monday morning to protest against Biden's plans to tackle COVID-19, which include new vaccine requirements.
Biden is touring three western states on a two-day trip. He visited Sacramento, California on Monday in addition to campaigning for Newsom in the recall election and is due in Denver, Colorado on Tuesday. His visit is meant to promote his use of a wartime law to help deal with wildfires as well as his economic agenda.
Speaking in Long Beach on Monday, the president called Newsom's main Republican rival Larry Elder a "clone of Trump." Elder, a conservative radio host, appears on track to win the most votes among the 46 replacement candidates who want to succeed Newsom but looks likely to fall short of ousting the Democrat.
"This year, the leading Republican running for governor is the closest thing to a Trump clone that I've ever seen in your state. I really mean it. And he's leading the other team. He's the clone of Donald Trump. Can you imagine him being governor of this state? You can't let that happen," Biden said.
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About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
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