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Late last week, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who’s one of a lot of people running for president, swung through Southern California.

He stopped at a few high-dollar private fund-raisers and donned an apron at Dulan’s Soul Food on Crenshaw, where he talked with black religious leaders and community members in South Los Angeles, according to City News Service.

In a story over the weekend, my colleagues Astead Herndon and Jennifer Medina put Mr. Biden’s visit into the broader context of a general election competition in which President Trump is working to make race and identity a central focus. Here are some takeaways from their piece. [Read the full story here.]

Should Democrats directly take on the president’s inflammatory language? Or just talk about things like health care and the economy?