Former New York Governor David Paterson expressed concern about the president’s mental state on a New York radio show, saying Biden is being supported by his staff during the embattled president.
Patterson, a former chairman of the state Democratic Party, expressed concern after hearing a long period of silence during the commander-in-chief’s speech at last week’s NAACP convention.
He also said that if President Biden leaves office and does not seek reelection, it would be hard not to put Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of his list of potential candidates.
He said Donald Trump was the “clear front-runner” to retake the White House, given the confusion within the Democratic Party over Biden’s qualifications and unpopularity.
“Most Democrats like Joe Biden. They like the job he’s done over the years. He’s been conservative at times, like passing the 1994 crime bill.
“But since he was elected in 2020, we’ve seen a significant change in his personality and decorum,” Patterson said Sunday on 770 WABC’s radio show “The Cats Roundtable.”
“People are not sure he is really in control. There is a belief that his staff are supporting him,” Patterson said.
The brain freeze that characterized Biden’s terrible debate performances continued to reoccur during the speech, including a roughly 10-second silence, Patterson said.
“Last Thursday, he spoke at the NAACP in Las Vegas and stopped three times during his speech and didn’t say anything for 10 to 15 seconds. That’s not what the country wants from a president,” Paterson told host John Catsimatidis.
Top Democratic figures, including former President Barack Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, are all said to be privately lobbying for Biden to resign.
More than two dozen lawmakers have publicly called on Biden to hand the baton to them and not seek reelection, fearing that Democrats could lose both houses of Congress and the White House if the 81-year-old Biden continues to lead the presidential race in November.
“Kamala Harris has been at odds with many Democrats, but I think it will be hard for the party to move away from her.” [There’s] “We don’t have much time to develop that campaign,” Patterson said.
Still, he pointed to Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Wes Moore of Maryland as possible successors, pointing out that there are many talented young Democratic governors.
Patterson said Biden is a proud, tough man who has shown he has no intention of going away quietly.
“The pressure is increasing [on Biden] More than the public knows… At least three people have told me when he was going to step down. All of those dates have passed and he still hasn’t. So, the rumors get in the way… In the end, I [he’s not going away so fast],” He said.
Paterson stressed that while turmoil within the Democratic Party would be difficult, it wouldn’t necessarily be a disaster, pointing to his own experience when Paterson, then lieutenant governor, took office in 2008 to replace Eliot Spitzer, who resigned amid a prostitution scandal.
“People don’t make the times, the times make the people. I went to work one morning and realized at 12:30 that afternoon I was going to be governor. The state didn’t sink underwater while I was in office,” he said.
“Fortunately, our government and the way we make the rules and the way political parties follow them is showing us the way, this is not a terrible situation.
“But I think Democrats really hope that Biden can beat former President Trump again, just like he did in 2020.”
Black Democratic leaders, including South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, have been Biden’s strongest supporters and have resisted calls for him to step down.
Paterson, New York’s first Black governor, stopped short of calling on Biden to resign, but his scathing criticism on Sunday could be a sign that African-American establishment support is beginning to wane.
