Witnessing the second, and thankfully the last debate between Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa, particularly Sliwa’s waving his hands and jabbing a finger at his opponent, was reminiscent of his verbal bouts with Gerson Borrero on NY1. The only thing missing was Sliwa’s tendency to bring props with him to underscore a point.
He needed more than props to turn the table in this encounter and like the first round, he was flailing wildly, and only occasionally broke Adams from a smiling silence.
The most heated exchange arrived when the attacks became personal. Adams resumed his charge of Sliwa being a clown, “and acting like my son when he was four years old.”
Where one lived and child support payments were matters that seemed to take precedence over the city’s homeless situation, the vaccine mandates, and other critical issues.
If viewers were interested in a better contest there was the World Series game or the Knicks versus the Philadelphia 76ers. Of course, in a general sense, the outcome of a game between the 76ers and the Knicks is about as certain as what will be the final count between Adams and Sliwa. Ah, but the Knicks defeated their rivals the other night. Can Sliwa upset Adams?
With registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans seven to one, Sliwa’s chances of defeating Adams are slim and none, even if slim was Trump.
The two debates were a waste of time, as is Sliwa’s bid to become the 110th mayor of the city, unless of course this is just another opportunistic moment for the candidate to enhance his notoriety.
At the end of the debate each was asked to say something kind and rewarding about their adversary, and Adams applauded Sliwa for taking care of a clowder of cats. This was a nice way to send the clown off to the litter box.