Opinion | Eric Adams Gives New Meaning to Frequent-Flier Program

Gail Collins: Well Bret, the mayor of New York is certainly in a ton of trouble. Any thoughts? I couldn’t help noticing that a lot of Eric Adams’s misdeeds seem to involve him getting cushy flights to places like Turkey and Sri Lanka. Remembering the scandal over Justice Clarence Thomas’s super-luxe flights in a plane belonging to a billionaire named Harlan Crow.

Do you think young people contemplating a career in public service these days think of it as a way to avoid sitting in the middle seat while flying cross-country or cross-world?

Bret Stephens: Gail, I remember a lot of high-profile prosecutions of government officials that fell apart in court. The Alaskan senator Ted Stevens comes to mind, as does Ray Donovan, Ronald Reagan’s secretary of labor, who asked, “Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?” after his acquittal on fraud and larceny charges.

So I’m not going to join the stampede calling for Adams’s immediate resignation, particularly because his would-be interim successor, Jumaane Williams, the public advocate, is a democratic socialist. I also have to wonder whether accepting discounted airline tickets and sleeping in a nice hotel room are the kind of offenses that should bring down an elected mayor. As Liel Leibovitz wrote in Tablet, “Prosecuting New York City mayors for their proximity to one form or another of local corruption is like prosecuting bartenders for their proximity to gin.”

Guessing you, uh, don’t agree.

Gail: Well, prosecuting bartenders for their proximity to gin makes sense if the bartenders are drinking deeply from the cup.

Bret: Well, sure, though whether you’re willing to fire and charge the bartender depends, also, on how much he’s drinking — and how well he mixes the drinks.

Gail: Adams is also charged with using $10 million in what were supposed to be public funds for his mayoral campaign.

Bret: A more serious charge, but the case is no slam dunk. Again, as an American I believe in hearing out the defense.

Gail: As a New Yorker, I don’t believe we deserve to be stuck with a multiply indicted mayor. And I have faith that in a special election, which Williams would have to call almost immediately if Adams resigns soon, we’ll pick somebody better. And that in the meantime we’ll survive a few months of being governed by a left-leaning interim mayor.

Bret: Well then I hope you’re excited about Mayor Andrew Cuomo.

In other news, Kamala Harris paid a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border last week. She seems to have changed her mind on building the border wall. Has she changed yours?

Gail: When it comes to the border, I don’t think Kamala Harris’ basic position has changed.

Bret: Uh oh.

Gail: Much of it was included in a bipartisan bill that offered a sensible solution — and which Trump demanded the Republicans kill off.

Bret: Except that the solution turned out to be an executive order Joe Biden issued earlier this year — and which he could have issued three years ago.

Gail: Now, of course, Harris is desperate to look as moderate as possible on immigration issues. The solution — which is obviously never going to be perfect — involves more spending for Border Patrol to secure the border and counseling for people who do make it across as to their legal rights.

The wall was always a stupid idea, but the current version is just a modest, unnecessary project funded by money Trump had already gotten appropriated. The megamonster he campaigned for is nowhere in sight and never will be.

What’s your reaction to all this?

Bret: The wall is an imperfect idea — migrants have other ways of slipping across our borders, usually by just overstaying their visas — but a necessary one. It would deter a lot of dangerous border crossings and encourage migrants to seek legal entry. It would improve the security of Americans living close to the southern border. And it would tamp down the populist fury over the perception of a virtually open border. Harris should say, “When the facts change, I change my opinion. What do you do, sir?”

Gail: I do wish you could join that speech-writing team.

Bret: Well, I’m plagiarizing John Maynard Keynes.

Now that I think about it, here’s what she should also say: that she’d appoint Stanley McChrystal, the retired general who just endorsed her in a Times guest essay, as secretary of Homeland Security, and James Stavridis, the retired admiral and NATO commander, as director of central intelligence, and retired admiral Bill McRaven as secretary of defense. With that, she could add one more New York state vote — namely, mine — to her tally.

Gail: OK, Bret. I was going to try to avoid nagging you about that, but you’ve opened the door. Appreciate that you’re considering supporting her, but that does seem to be a heck of a long list of very specific demands.

Bret: Naming that kind of team right now would put Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Ali Khamenei immediately on notice that America under a Harris administration is not to be messed with. Democrats who aren’t ultra-lefties should be stoked for that lineup. I’d add Jamie Dimon’s name as treasury secretary, but maybe I’m pressing my luck.

Gail: While the presidential race keeps chugging along, people are starting to take note of the very big problems Democrats are going to have hanging on to the Senate. Are you rooting for a President Harris immobilized by a Republican upper chamber?

Bret: I’m a fan of divided government. I’d feel the same way if Trump were to win — I’d want at least one house of Congress to be controlled by Democrats. Preferably the Senate, since the thought of MAGA judges freaks me out.

But, you know, holding on to the Senate means supporting Democratic candidates who can appeal to Trump voters. In other words, people more in the mold of Joe Manchin than Elizabeth Warren. Are you OK with that?

Gail: My reservations about the extremely malleable Senator Manchin were less about his love of the middle road than the financial investments he had in the West Virginia coal industry that benefited from public policies he had some influence over.

If Democrats find a candidate in a swing state who can compromise his way into office without embracing anything appalling, obviously I’m game. We both like Sherrod Brown in Ohio, right? But lately he’s been losing some of his lead in a race against a wealthy Republican opponent.

Bret: I have faith that gifted, decent, relatable Sherrod Brown will pull it out, though Bernie Moreno, his Trumpy opponent, has moved up in the polls and Ohio is an ever-redder state. I’m also hoping for an upset in the Senate race in Texas: I’d love to see the Democratic candidate, Colin Allred, in the Senate, but what I’d love so much more is to see Ted Cruz not.

Gail: Texas, I know you’re a very right-leaning state. But everybody knows Ted Cruz is awful in every possible way. Including sneaking off on vacation to Mexico while his fellow Texans were suffering from a crippling utility outage. Really, this is the easiest possible moment to do what’s right.

Bret: My all-time favorite comment about Cruz comes from the (sadly former) Senator Al Franken: “I like Ted Cruz more than most of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz.”

Gail: What about over in Nebraska, Bret? Any interest in that race? The incumbent Republican senator, Deb Fischer, isn’t particularly controversial, and that’s a red state. But her opponent, Dan Osborn, seems to be doing pretty well running as an independent working guy who led a successful strike against a big Kellogg plant.

Know how you love those union heroes, hehehehe. Any thoughts?

Bret: I know zippo about Nebraska politics. All I know is that somewhere in the middle of the state, just off Interstate 80, there’s a gas station with a sign that says, “YOU ARE NOWHERE.” Which feels like the most honest place in America.

Gail, we have to say a word about the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. For all of my bellyaching about big government, I’m grateful for the work of people in agencies like FEMA, bringing relief to the areas that have been hit hard.

Gail: Thanks, Bret. Of course our hearts go out to the victims who’ve lost everything from loved ones to homes to employment. And yes, you’re right: these are the times when we’re most proud and happy to see big government at work, and the marvelous people who do the job.

I do appreciate it when you take that road. Maybe it’s another good sign about your vote in November.

Whoops. Wasn’t going to go there. Take the final, please.

Bret: It’s fun to end our conversations by pointing our readers to a terrific story in The Times. And nothing I’ve read in the last few days has moved me so deeply as Shawn McCreesh’s beautifully crafted report on Beverly Aikins, better known as JD Vance’s mom. Aikins’s life was scarred by years of addiction. It’s been redeemed by a decade of sobriety. Whatever one thinks of her son’s politics, her story deserves attention, honesty and empathy. Shawn offered a journalistic master class — hardly his first — in how to tell it right.

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