Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro says Trump deserves to be impeached on campaign stop in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Democratic presidential hopeful Julian Castro visited the Bay Area on Wednesday and had plenty to say about President Donald Trump.

"We need your help today immediately, and we want to make sure you become the next president of the United States," proclaimed Oakland City Councilman Noel Gallo, as he stood side by side with Castro at the Fruitvale BART station.

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That's where an otherwise routine campaign stop in the Bay Area turned into an opportunity for Castro to respond to President Trump's impeachment inquiry.

"This president is not above the law. This president has clearly abused his power," said Castro.

President Trump is accused of setting his sights on former Vice-President Joe Biden and his son Hunter's alleged involvement in Ukraine.

But it wasn't all that long ago that Castro aggressively went after Biden himself-- on a national stage during the Democratic debate in Houston, aggressively asking the 76-year-old Biden if he forgot a statement the former vice-president made just two minutes earlier.

On this visit to Oakland, Castro backed off Biden.

"Joe Biden is an honest man. He and his family do not deserve these kinds of baseless accusations from Donald Trump," said Castro.

The expressed purpose of Castro's visit to Oakland was to actually to survey the city's growing homeless problem.

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The former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Castro toured one of Oakland's largest homeless encampments adjacent to the Home Depot near High Street.

If elected president, he pledged to create three million new housing units across the United States over the next ten years.