The White House race is Donald Trump’s to lose after the Democratic Party wracked its brains over President Biden’s debate debacle and whether the embattled 81-year-old candidate should remain at the top of the field, former Gov. David Paterson said.
Paterson praised former Republican President Trump for showing restraint as his rival Biden and fellow Democrats are stuck in political quicksand — and said it will now be difficult for Biden or any other replacement to defeat the Republican nominee despite his scandals.
“If you notice [last] “You haven’t heard much this week from a former president named Donald Trump. When Donald Trump makes a lot of noise and pisses off a lot of people, that’s one thing,” Democrat Paterson said Sunday on WABC 770’s “The Cats Roundtable.”
“But I think in this particular case, his silence says, ‘Why say anything when everything is going my way and the Democrats are everywhere?'”
He said even Trump — who has never shied away from the spotlight or attacked his opponents on social media and at rallies — understands that sometimes silence can be golden.
Meanwhile, Paterson believes Biden and his team’s explanations for the president’s disastrous debate performance — and attacks on fellow Democrats who questioned his mental acuity — have only made matters worse.
“I really don’t have an opinion one way or the other as to whether or not [Biden] should drop out of the race. But I just think that this management [of last week’s debate] “It was really bad. I know the former president is dying to jump at this, but he’s smart enough to know better than to do it,” Paterson said.
“When you’re in trouble,” Paterson said, “stop attacking everyone.”
He said Biden, 81, would have garnered more sympathy by simply saying he botched the debate, apologizing and promising to do better next time — instead of blaming a cold and lack of rest for his blunders.
He said Trump, 78, is now well positioned to reclaim the presidency, noting that Vice President Kamala Harris’ public opinion polls are worse than Biden’s, and that it would be difficult for any other lesser-known candidate to gain traction with just months to go before the election.
“You’re going to have to go up against Donald Trump who is playing with the money in the House right now. That’s going to be a tough task for President Biden or whoever comes off the bench and takes his place,” Paterson told host John Catsimatidis.
Trump has serious legal problems of his own, but he got some relief last week when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled granting presidents immunity for “official acts” that could impact ongoing criminal cases.
Sentencing in his Manhattan corruption trial was postponed from July 11 to September in light of the ruling.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan said he would make a decision on whether and how the immunity ruling would affect the case by Sept. 6, and that sentencing would take place on Sept. 18 “if that is still necessary.”
Trump faces up to four years in prison, but could also be sentenced to probation or community service, after a Manhattan jury convicted him on May 30 of concealing a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to hide from voters the alleged details of a sexual encounter before the 2016 presidential election.
