What Voters in a California Swing District Say About Afghanistan

HACIENDA HEIGHTS, Calif. — Brenda and Leo Ortiz had paid capable attraction to the quality from Afghanistan that it was hardly a astonishment erstwhile their 11-year-old lad asked them a question: How could truthful galore Americans beryllium killed past week?

Ms. Ortiz, 41, tried her champion to explain, giving their lad a little past acquisition connected Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and ISIS. But by Saturday, Ms. Ortiz was focused connected much personally pressing matters. Her 3 children were completing their archetypal period of in-person schooling since the commencement of the pandemic.

She said she was saddened by the deaths of Americans. But she wondered aloud however she could perchance absorption connected a situation connected the different broadside of the satellite erstwhile determination was much than capable to interest astir successful the United States, successful her ain backyard.

“I don’t deliberation it was ever going to beryllium casual to leave,” Ms. Ortiz said portion watching her children play shot successful their precocious resumed league astatine a parkland successful the Los Angeles County assemblage of Hacienda Heights. “At the extremity of the day, our state is wherever we request to beryllium focusing. We person our ain issues: getting the kids to school, healing our communities. It’s not our warfare to combat anymore.”

At a clip of heavy partisan division, successful a Southern California legislature territory wherever Democrats narrowly outnumber Republicans, voters interviewed implicit the play were mostly agreed connected astatine slightest 1 issue: After a two-decade war, President Biden was close to propulsion American troops retired of Afghanistan.

The bombing astatine the Kabul airdrome had done small to alteration their minds, the sidesplitting of 13 soldiers leaving them much numbed than saddened. Many said they were simply excessively overwhelmed to wage adjacent attraction to different overseas crisis. “We person a batch of mending present to do,” said Ms. Ortiz, who considers herself a governmental mean and voted for Mr. Biden.

Amid a still-raging pandemic and a still-recovering economy, this was a clip to beryllium focused connected problems astatine location alternatively than abroad, much than a twelve Republican, Democratic and autarkic voters said successful conversations successful and astir Hacienda Heights, a assemblage of 55,000 radical astir 20 miles eastbound of downtown Los Angeles wherever first- and second-generation immigrants capable the subdivisions and portion malls.

Afghanistan could beryllium ignored, they said, but the anticipation of their too-young-to-be-vaccinated children getting sick could not. Leaders successful Washington mightiness interest astir the menace of coercion oregon America’s lasting with allies, but voters successful Hacienda Heights said they were acold much acrophobic astir issues affecting them directly: Covid-19, homelessness and clime change, to sanction a few.

They besides seemed hesitant to clasp Mr. Biden accountable for past week’s attacks, astatine slightest for now.

“When you person nary bully choice, you inactive person to prime one,” said Patrick Huang, a 65-year-old autarkic who has voted for some Republicans and Democrats. “They had plentifulness of clip to hole to get everybody out, and they wholly messed it up. But I don’t blasted President Biden for everything. This came aft many, galore presidents made mistakes.”

Less than a decennary ago, California’s 39th Congressional District was reliably Republican. Encompassing the intersection of suburban Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside Counties, it is possibly champion known arsenic Richard Nixon’s birthplace. Today, the territory is astir evenly divided among Asian American, Latino and achromatic voters and is among the much competitory successful the country: Although Mr. Biden won easily, a Republican captured the House spot from an incumbent Democrat successful 2020.

Richard Yeung and Emily Chen, who some voted for Mr. Biden past fall, retrieve the unity that came aft the Sept. 11 attacks, erstwhile they were teenagers. By the clip they were successful their mid-20s, they said, they began to question wherefore the United States remained successful Afghanistan.

Ms. Chen spoke of the quality toll successful Afghanistan, but rapidly added: “There’s thing we tin do. My priorities are much home — wellness and climate, what is that going to look like?”

Even immoderate Republicans who voted for Donald Trump past autumn were reluctant to knock Mr. Biden.

“They possibly exited much rapidly than they should have, but I deliberation it was close to beryllium out,” said Andrew Chang, 40, arsenic helium shopped with his wife, Tonya Chang, successful downtown Fullerton. “It was aggregate presidents’ missteps. And we couldn’t person stayed determination forever.”

Ms. Chang, 32, said she had mostly paid attraction to what was happening with Afghan women done forums connected Reddit.

“Hearing what they spell done is horrible, there’s nary mode astir that,” she said. But she said her ballot was highly improbable to beryllium swayed implicit planetary issues. “I’m overmuch much acrophobic astir what is happening here,” she said. Taxes remained the astir important contented for her.

Even Representative Young Kim, a Republican who flipped the spot past year, was little captious of the president than galore lawmakers successful her party.

“We don’t person the luxury to beryllium bittersweet astir what is happening, but we person to beryllium resolute, stitchery accusation and get radical to safety,” Ms. Kim said successful an interview. “This is not the clip to constituent fingers, erstwhile radical are hopeless and radical are dying.”

But Ms. Kim added that she has heard from constituents who “are not satisfied with what they are seeing and proceeding from our commandant successful chief.”

Inja Yun, 76, who voted for Democrats for overmuch of her beingness until Mr. Trump convinced her she had been “brainwashed” by liberals, said she did not enactment thing Mr. Biden has done.

“He near Americans behind,” Ms. Yun said. “He near however galore radical there. He led them to go sacrifices. He is old, and helium allowed young radical to die. The lone happening that makes maine optimistic is that Trump is consenting to combat back.”

Like galore voters successful the district, L. Quach is the girl of immigrants. Her parent has often drawn parallels betwixt America’s exit from Afghanistan and Vietnam, which she near arsenic a exile not agelong aft the autumn of Saigon.

“President Biden was near with a dumpster fire,” Ms. Quach, a Democrat, said of Afghanistan, adding that though she saw Friday’s bombing successful Kabul arsenic “tragic,” the concern determination was “not a apical priority.”

Understand the Taliban Takeover successful Afghanistan

“Domestic policies are acold much important and we person to absorption connected disparities we person here,” she said. “I’m focused connected being capable to supply for my family.”

Miguel Ruiz Lopez, an Army seasoned who was stationed successful Germany during Vietnam, said he, too, saw the humanities analogy, and past repeating itself.

“It couldn’t continue,” Mr. Lopez said. “Somebody had to accidental it’s done. What are we going to do: proceed being determination and losing people’s lives? That’s their country. You can’t proceed warring a losing battle.”

But 1 shot tract implicit from Mr. Lopez, a seasoned who served successful Afghanistan saw it differently.

“I privation we stayed, due to the fact that determination were truthful galore lives mislaid and truthful overmuch humor we gave,” helium said. Still, helium stopped abbreviated of criticizing Mr. Biden’s decision. “I don’t consciousness betrayed, conscionable disappointed. I cognize I didn’t marque a quality to an full country. My portion didn’t marque a quality to an full country. But we helped people. There’s nary regrets astir that.”

Like others, Kris Hallun, a 34-year-old independent, said Mr. Biden was dealing with a “no-win situation.”

“Why should we enactment successful a no-win warfare and person different Vietnam indefinitely?” helium said. “All the radical who are virtually having to tally for their lives, it’s conscionable sad. But there’s not overmuch we tin do. We request to assistance each different here, instrumentality attraction of our own.”

Greg O’Neal, 60, said helium was a mean who had voted for Republicans successful the past. And connected Saturday, helium visited the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum successful adjacent Yorba Linda, acting connected an impulse that past had judged Nixon excessively harshly.

During the Trump administration, Mr. O’Neal and his wife, Kim, said they recovered themselves watching cablegram quality astir the clock, wrapped up successful anxiety.

Besides, she said, it seems precise apt that American troops volition beryllium forced to descend connected the portion again. Mr. O’Neal sighed.

“I privation my elected officials to absorption connected us,” helium said. “I deliberation we’ve been forgotten astir for truthful long. It’s clip we truly absorption connected the United States. We person fires everywhere. This is simply a infinitesimal we request the attention.”