Young Long Island voters weigh in on presidential debate: 'These are really our options?'

At South Shore Craft Brewery in Oceanside, Thursday nights typically mean trivia, beer flights and, as of this summer, frozen piña coladas.

But around 9 p.m. Thursday, co-owner Hugh Howard rushed the MC to wrap up for the bar’s screening of the year's first presidential debate. The crowd dwindled to about two dozen mostly new voters who stuck around watching the candidates, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, quarrel over everything from their respective times in office to their golf swings.

As Biden struggled to complete some of his points and Trump countered with exaggerations, bar patrons told Newsday the highly anticipated d ebate quickly turned into a stark reality check. While some of the young Long Islanders expressed a candidate preference, those interviewed said neither Biden nor Trump had them fully convinced. Some acknowledged they are considering voting for a third-party candidate in November, a sign of what some young Long Islanders may think of this year's mainstream options.

Earlier that day, the Brewery, which first opened its doors in 2019, announced on Instagram that it would be streaming the debate “with sound on.” Staff told Newsday that they  did not expect the gathering to be especially divisive or partisan. Instead, they hoped it would be an opportunity to interact communally and talk over important issues facing Americans.

Bartender Abigail Volpe, 20, expressed disappointment over what she considered to be “low turnout” for the event.

“I think that people are afraid to face how fast this [election] is approaching …” Volpe said as she rinsed pint glasses under the bar sink. “Nobody wants to watch it in real life. They wanna hide out at home.”

Only minutes into the debate, Volpe looked up at one of the five televisions streaming the event, giggling.

“He [Biden] looks like he doesn’t even know what to say,” she said.

For Lior Avshalomov, who is 25 and from Oceanside, Biden's debate rhetoric did not sound genuine enough. 

“I like how Trump is intuitive and not scripted like Biden,” Avshalomov, who is a student at Fordham University, said. “It feels like everything Biden says is from a teleprompter or script and while Trump might say some crazy things, I like that he at least speaks his mind honestly.”

Still, he doesn't have much hope for a second Trump term either, saying, “regardless of who gets elected, things only change in a really minor way.”

Brianna Phang and Ariana Cardenas, both 24 and from Baldwin, originally came to the brewery to catch up and play trivia. Afterward, they found themselves unintentionally eyeing the debate, giving them a reason to stay longer.

“It’s just like wow … These are really our options?” Phang said. “At this point, we’re tired of seeing them.”

Phang, despite working a steady job as a lab analyst, said that she could not afford to move out of her family home. She doubted whether Trump — or Biden — could effectively tackle issues like inflation if elected.

“We’re using our credit cards just to survive,” Phang added. “The taxes we pay aren’t helping us; they fund international things like war.”

Cardenas, who works part time as a caregiver and attends Farmingdale State College, said she struggles to trust most news sources to keep her informed about national politics.

“Mainstream news is controlled,” she said. “Both CNN and Fox News are biased. When I get updates from creators on TikTok, it feels more independent.”

Logan Cicero, who is 25 and from Rockaway, was so displeased with the two mainstream candidates he found himself preferring a different option altogether: Robert F Kennedy Jr., who is attempting to contend as an independent candidate.

In terms of political ideology, Cicero said Kennedy Jr. appealed to him because “he is an outsider and isn't tied to a party.”

Cicero, who works as an operating engineer, explained he sides with Democrats on marijuana and abortion and believes both should be legal, but has concerns that Democratic-backed gun control will limit his ability to legally own guns.

And while he doesn't plan on voting for either Biden or Trump, Cicero still intently watched.

“Watching this debate is like watching a Walmart fight — you know what you’re going to get but you can’t look away.”