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Protesters Greet President Biden Before CNN Town Hall In Cincinnati

Before President Joe Biden's plane landed in Kentucky Wednesday afternoon, protesters were already gathered in Delhi, Ohio, waving Trump flags and calling for Biden's impeachment. Among the most important issues to protesters, they said, are abortion, immigration, election fraud and taxes.

Bonnie Forbeck says she's lived in Delhi almost 60 years and is disappointed officials at Mount St. Joseph University agreed to host Biden. 

"Very disappointed in the university, a Catholic university," she said. "Biden believes in abortion and Catholics do not. So no, I'm really not happy. So that's why I'm here with my Trump flag, hoping to get him back in office." 

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She says she never worried about election fraud before the 2020 election, but reports of election fraud made her feel like her vote may not have been counted. 

"I wish the government could fix that. So we don't have to worry about when we go to the voting booth … we know our votes are going to be counted," she said. 

Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department has not found evidence of widespread voter fraud that would have affected the 2020 election. Former President Donald Trump's claims of election fraud have not been substantiated by any local or federal investigations. But that hasn't stopped Biden critics from believing the election was not legitimate.

Catherine Batcheller says she also doesn't believe Biden legitimately won the election. She held a cardboard sign that said "Impeach Biden."

"I'm just here to stand up, to take back our country to stand up to someone that is not my president. He's destroying our country," she said.

Among many things, she takes issue with the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan Biden is pressing Congress to pass, even though it may provide funding for much-needed repairs to the Brent Spence Bridge.

"If he talks about infrastructure, that's also a gigantic - first of all - financial disaster. But what is problematic is what they're trying to sneak into the infrastructure since they can't get it through any other way," she said. 

Thoughthe bill isn't written yet,Batcheller worries lawmakers will add policies about election reform, taxes or amnesty in the bill before it's voted on. 

While the crowd of about a dozen protesters more than doubled within an hour, many more people waving Trump 2024 flags and other signs joined the group after 5 p.m. A candle service for the unborn took place at 7 p.m. 

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President Biden: 'Yes, We Will'

After landing at the airport just after 4 p.m., President Biden shook hands and spoke with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and his family for several minutes before getting in a vehicle for the 40-minute ride to the  IBEW/NECA Electrical Training Center.

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Credit Andrew Harnik / AP
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AP
President Joe Biden is greeted by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, second from left, his wife Britainy Beshear, center, and their children Lila Beshear, 11, left, and Will Beshear, 12, right, as he arrives at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, Ky., Wednesday, July 21, 2021.

Other protesters and some Biden supporters staked out the roadways near the training center, waving flags and signs as the president drove past.

At the training facility, Biden was given a tour and several apprentices and instructors explained what they do at the facility. 

Biden said "unions are the best" when it comes to training, saying they "built the middle class." He also said the country would "come to a halt" without electricians.

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Credit Andrew Harnik / AP
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AP
President Joe Biden greets electrician instructor Jerry Mahoney, second from right, and apprentice Stephen Randolph, right, as he arrives to speak with them at the IBEW / NECA Electrical Training Center in Cincinnati, Wednesday, July 21, 2021.

As he left, someone shouted a question at him asking if the infrastructure deal will get passed. 

Biden said, "Yes we will."

The CNN-hosted town hall starts at 8 p.m. and includes questions from local people who were invited to the event. 

 

Jolene Almendarez is the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants who came to San Antonio in the 1960s. She was raised in a military family and has always called the city home. She studied journalism at San Antonio College and earned a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Public Communications from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She's been a reporter in San Antonio and Castroville, Texas, and in Syracuse and Ithaca, New York.