Biden challenge for Trump debates. Good idea for President Biden?

0:00 Speaker 1 With us this morning, and every Sunday morning is Governor David Patterson, and he gives us an update of what’s going on in our city or state a country. And Governor Patterson, what are you feeling this morning?

0:15 Speaker 2 Well, first, let’s talk about the debate challenge that President Biden made to the former president Donald Trump. First of all, there are three of our partners that we do cats at night, Rita Cosby and Judge Weinberg and Ed Cox, and I know they’re homeshaking their piggy banks right now because I bet all of them that there would be

0:39 a debate between Trump and Biden. So now that I’ve been playing with the House’s money, I can tell you that this my view of this may be a little different than most people. If I were President Trump, I don’t know if I would go to the debate. He’s afraid to debate, and not that he probably would be

0:58 the one that comes out looking better. But you know, when you’re kind of ahead in the game, sometimes it’s kind of best to stay there. That’s why the incumbent president usually never say whether or not they’re going to debate, and they look at the poll ground. August In September, and that’s when they make that decision. But I don’t

1:16 think the former president the way things are going right now. I was surprised that he accepted it because everything in the trial seems to be starting to turn his way. And if I were him, I believe I Biden were up in the post fifteen points, he wouldn’t debate Trump for the whole year. But that won’t be the case.

1:37 Speaker 1 Understood, because he is up in the polls. And I think you’re right, more right than wrong on that. And they put so many restrictions. They want nobody in the audience. I understand certain other media groups are not even allowed in the room.

1:58 Speaker 2 No reporters, no one that’s were written for a magazine. All left handed people are not allowed. It was really a little excessive.

2:07 Speaker 1 Left handed people or right handed people. How about if you’re in the middle.

2:15 Speaker 2 Exactly. So, now, as we moved to the campaign, as you know, former presidents moving ahead on Friday, he started to embark on this idea to try to bring back the black voters who were supported with him. Of course, in twenty twenty, and the question was asked to me by another journalist, what does President Trump have to do

2:41 to retrieve the black vote. And this is an interesting question, John, because I’ve had to answer this maybe one hundred times in my career. When the NACP was founded in nineteen o nine, and when it was founded, most of the members of the NACP were white and their first meeting was going to be in Niagara Falls, but because we’re

3:02 black members of the group, they had to go across the river to Canada and hold the meeting. But at the meeting, W. E. B. Du bois the founding president and ACP was asked this question and his answer is the same answer I’m going to give. Black people want the same people that white people want. The same thing

3:19 that white people want, an equal opportunity to have housing, good education, opportunities to get a job, ability to vote. All of those issues are really gray areas because everybody in this country wants the same thing. And when certain groups of people start shifting, it’s because they don’t think they’re getting it.

3:42 Speaker 1 Understood. So, which way is the minority communities going, the Hispanic which is number one in the country, the Asian and the Black communities. Do they feel they’re better Uh, four years ago, they feel they’re better off these three years.

4:04 Speaker 2 Well, that was the famous question that Ronald Reagan asked the public when he debated back in nineteen eighty against Jimmy Carter. I think people feel that they’re not as well off now as they were four years ago. There are people who’ve done better in the last four years, and all I think it’s an added fact that there’s

4:23 kind of a fear factor right now. We didn’t send any arms to help Israel. We stood and watched as people got slaughtered in Afghanistan when we tried to get out of there, and you know, there are threats coming from other countries that are unfriendly to us. And when you put that all with a combination of the inflation

4:47 rate right now, which is killing people. As John manny Kain’s once said, people used to go to the supermarket with money in their pockets and bring back supplies, and now they go to the supermarket with money and bags and bring back supplies from their pockets. That’s how I think a lot of the American public is feeling. And

5:08 I think it’s it’s going to be something that the president has got to turn around at some point, and I you know, there have been chances for him to step out and really do something, you know, starting with the situation in Afghanistan. And I think if we had been a little more in on the attack on Israel,

5:33 that the presence numbers, not just among Jewish people, but among all people would be in a whole lot better position than they are now.

5:42 Speaker 1 Agreed, What else is bothering you at three o’clock in the morning, What bothers you about what’s still going on in New York? Are people getting safer? Because I don’t think they’re highly confident that they’re safer.

5:58 Speaker 2 I think that Eric Adams is right when he quotes the statistics that show that people are safer in terms of crimes in the subway, assaults on the street. But when you have these random assaults as we’ve had in the last week, and even a well known actor got assaulted walking down the street in Brooklyn. And then the

6:20 two Jewish kids, they were eleven and thirteen and they were beaten up by some adults also in Brooklyn. When those things happen, I mean, John, I used to walk down the street and you know, not really think much about the fact that I was walking down the street.

6:38 Now I feel like I look at everyone who’s asking me to make sure that I’m in a safe zone.

6:44 Speaker 1 I feel the same way. You know, I have a Carrie permit for forty years, maybe forty five years, fifty years, and I’ve never been nervous walking around New York, not even nineteen eighties. And lately with all these surprise hits on people for no reason at all, I look around twice as much.

7:11 Speaker 2 Well, John, you hit on a major point. I was wondering why. And at the time, let’s say nineteen eighty five to you know, ninety one ninety two when Commissioner Kelly and David Dinkins came in and started to turn it around. But for that period I never remembered feeling that afraid walking around the streets. The difference is that

7:38 most of the crime at that time was drug related, drug gangs fighting each other, you know, gang fights in the streets, shootouts between people whom both should have been behind bars. What’s happening now is there are random attacks, and where there are attacks with groups of people, they are attacking other people. So you know, when you look

8:02 at what happened at Times Square a couple of months ago, and that kind of thing, you just can’t be quoting statistics. Unfortunately, Mayor Adams is not just quoting statistics. He talks about what it feels like to be in a situation like that.

8:17 But it’s funny you would bring that up, because I was wondering why I you know, I was in my thirties then, and you know, I really never really thought anything that bad was going to happen to me walking around the streets of New York City. But now I think everybody has, you know, has a much greater perception

8:39 of what could happen when they’re walking the streets, and particularly at night, and when they’re walking the streets alone.

8:45 Speaker 1 I agree with you one hundred percent. And people in the stores are still nervous about working until midnight, that we were always opened, and people are still scared to ride the subways, no matter what they tell you, they’re still scared, and that we have to get over that fear before New York can open up. Absolutely well, Governor Patterson,

9:11 We’ll have a great Sunday. Next week is Memorial Day weekend, and I’m still working, and God bless you, and God bless America.

9:22 Speaker 2 You too, John, And tomorrow is my birthday, so you can wish me Happy.

9:25 Speaker 1 Birthday, Oh, happy birthday, and I look forward to having some cake with you.

9:32 Speaker 2 You got it. Take care, take care,