Biden, Schumer talk about elections near hot mic

Washington, Oct 27 (EFE).- President Joe Biden and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday thought they were privately discussing the Nov. 8 mid-term elections without realizing that they were near a hot microphone.

Schumer remarked about the election battles in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Georgia in a conversation with Biden upon the latter’s arrival at a Syracuse, New York, military base, where the president was going to deliver a speech.

As one of New York’s two senators, Schumer was there to welcome Biden on his arrival and spoke with him for several minutes on the airport tarmac.

The pair spoke far away from reporters, but a microphone that had been left on caught much, if not all, of their conversation and conservative media outlet Fox News broadcast their exchange.

“We’re in danger with that seat,” Schumer can be heard saying, shrugging but not going on to specify which campaign or which state he was referring to.

Gesturing with his hands, the top Democratic senator continued, saying, “It looks like the debate didn’t hurt us too much in Pennsylvania as of today. So that’s good.”

Schumer was referring to the recent debate between Democratic Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz, a television celebrity and purveyor of weight-loss pills popularly known as Dr. Oz.

Fetterman suffered a stroke just before winning the Democratic primary earlier this year and continues to have problems hearing and speaking, a situation that made it difficult for him to respond to Oz’s constant attacks during the debate.

When Biden heard Schumer say that the debate had come off better than expected, he responded by crossing his fingers and displaying them for the senator.

Then, Schumer said he thought that Democrats are “picking up steam in Nevada,” referring to the race between the party’s Catherine Cortez Masto, the first Latina US senator, who is facing off in a tough election campaign against Republican Adam Laxalt.

Despite their optimism in the Nevada race, Schumer offered a sober view of the Georgia Senate race, saying that “The state where we’re going down, though, is Georgia. It’s hard to believe that they will go for Herschel Walker,” the controversial former football star who is the Republican candidate running against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.

Schumer also said that turnout in Georgia for early voting has been “huge.”

It remains to be seen whether Schumer’s comments will have an impact on the campaigns of the Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Georgia, or anywhere else for that matter.

As soon as the video became public, Fox News posted it prominently on its Web page with the phrase “We’re in danger,” which Schumer had uttered to Biden.

The Democrats hold the slimmest of majorities in the Senate, where the split between their party and the GOP is 50-50, although Vice President Kamala Harris holds the tiebreaking vote.

If the GOP can pick a net of one seat, the conservative party will hold a majority in the upper house of Congress, a situation that could give them the power to hamstring Biden’s and the Democrats’ legislative agenda for the next two years.

EFE bpm/ssa/cpy/bp