Your Presidential Debate Questions

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC, and we'll end today by inviting calls on this very straightforward question. What would you like to hear the moderators ask Biden and Trump at the first presidential debate tomorrow night? 212-433-WNYC. Your proposed questions are welcome. 212-433-9692. The questions will be coming from the moderators of tomorrow night's debate, CNN's Dana Bash and Jake Tapper. They'll be doing this in Atlanta, so they're probably not in New York right now and listening to the show as they do debate prep of their own. They've both been guests, and who knows, maybe they are listening.

It'll start around 9:00 PM and run for around 90 minutes. Plenty of time for questions on a range of issues relevant to this particular political moment and the two people on that debate stage; the economy, Israel and Gaza, climate and energy, policy versus personal character, and the list obviously goes on. Listeners, we're going to give you the last few minutes of the show today with this invitation to call in with one question, just one question, on any topic that you would like to hear Dana Bash and Jake Tapper ask Joe Biden and/or Donald Trump tomorrow. 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692.

We've been inviting these the last couple of days via text message. A few that have come in in the last couple of hours, one person writes, "Will the candidates support making the Supreme Court balanced with three liberal, three conservative, three independent justices, and stacking?" Another listener suggests, "What specific steps would you take to shrink the income inequality gap?" Another one writes, "Since people think that the president controls everything, I would like the moderators to ask what Biden has done specifically to bring down consumer prices at the store and at the pump."

You get the idea. That's a little array from some of your fellow listeners. What would you like to hear the moderators ask? I proposed a question yesterday that I'll repeat now. What would you each do to make housing more affordable in the United States, and why would your housing policies be better than your opponent's? What's your question that you would like to hear Biden and Trump asked tomorrow? Before we take our first call, we'll give you a professional sample of a first question. This is the first question that Chris Wallace asked in the first meeting between Biden and Trump on the debate stage on Fox in 2020, just to jog your memory.

Chris Wallace: Our first subject is the Supreme Court. President Trump, you nominated Amy Coney Barrett over the weekend to succeed the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Court. You say the Constitution is clear about your obligation and the Senate's to consider a nominee to the Court. Vice President Biden, you say that this is an effort by the President and Republicans to jam through on an appointment and what you call an abuse of power. My first question to both of you tonight, why are you right in the argument you make and your opponent wrong, and where do you think a Justice Barrett would take the court?

Brian Lehrer: Chris Wallace's first question four years ago. You can propose a question for anywhere in the debate. 212-433-WNYC. We'll take those calls right after this.

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now we're inviting your suggestions for questions that Biden and Trump could be asked at tomorrow night's debate. Debra in Jersey City, you're on WNYC. Hello, Debra.

Debra: Hi, Brian. My question is, currently employers and employees pay into Social Security until they reach I believe it's $168,000 for 2024. Why not eliminate that cutoff and have all taxable income that everybody makes no matter what it is, have them pay Social Security on because that way that would shore up the Social Security system because people that make more than $168,000, they get a break.

Brian Lehrer: They get a break in percentage terms, absolutely. Debra, thank you very much. Good question. Joan in Manhattan, you're on WNYC. Hi, Joan.

Joan: Hi, Brian. Love your show. I would like the moderator to ask each of the contestants which accomplishments they are most proud of, specifically during their presidential terms.

Brian Lehrer: Joan, thank you very much. How about Tina in Harlem? You're on WNYC. Hi, Tina.

Tina: Hi, Brian. I'd like to hear the candidates speak about childcare so that women can return to work. We have such a low birth rate right now and they're forcing women to have children they don't want. How about helping to provide for the children they do have so that women can earn a proper living?

Brian Lehrer: Tina, thank you very much. Alana in West Allenhurst, New Jersey, you're on WNYC. Hi, Alana.

Alana: Hey. Thanks for taking my call, Brian. I would like to ask Donald Trump, how would you handle nuclear weapons? What if we're faced with a situation that just seems really dire, how would you handle that, and what would cause you to "push the button"? Because he's talked about it.

Brian Lehrer: Is that about based on some nervousness on your part that Trump would push the button faster than Biden?

Alana: Yes, he's talked about it. He's in an offhanded way said we'll just push the button and that he has this in his control, that this is his-- He oftentimes uses power as a-- He throws his power around and he's used it like [unintelligible 00:06:38].

Brian Lehrer: That kind of bravado. Yes, and would he actually do that? Alana, thank you very much. Andrea in Lower Manhattan, you're on WNYC. Hi, Andrea.

Andrea: Hi there. My question is, we've been talking about them in the crisis with the mentally ill and all the [unintelligible 00:06:57] institutionalization. I'm really interested in hearing the candidates talk about funding for the community mental health program that was discussed back in the Kennedy administration that was never funded. I'm a therapist, so this is a very big concern for me.

Brian Lehrer: Andrea, thank you very much. Donna in Manhattan, you're on WNYC. Hi, Donna. You have a question for the debate?

Donna: Hi, thank you for taking my call. My question is, how are they going to lower food prices? Because it costs about $30 to make a sandwich. It's $6 for the bread, it's $6 for the mayo, it's $8 for half a pound of turkey, but then again, I don't really have to have the mayo. Another thing, they need to bring jobs back to America because I can't understand these outsourced call centers. We need call centers here, we need jobs here, and they need to bring jobs back here. That would be my question. How are they going to do that? I am African American. Thank you.

Brian Lehrer: Donna, thank you very much. Bill in Greenwich Village, you're on WNYC. Hi, Bill.

Bill: Hi, thanks for taking my call. This is about [inaudible 00:08:16] how come he's not getting [unintelligible 00:08:20]--

Brian Lehrer: Oh, you dropped out just at the beginning. I think you're asking about, why is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., not getting Secret Service protection.

Bill: Correct, and why is he not aware of [unintelligible 00:08:32] '92, Ross Perot was signed up on [unintelligible 00:08:36] and George H. W. Bush and Robert Kennedy has more support than he does, especially today when most of the country isn't interested in either one of these guys.

Brian Lehrer: Bill, thank you very much. Yes, that would be an interesting piece of history to look into that I don't know about. Did Ross Perot as a significant third-party candidate get government-funded Secret Service or other protection, and is there not a single standard as it applies to RFK Jr., this year? Some coming in via text message. "Will you commit to peacefully transfer power and leave office after your second term?"

Another one writes, "Since people think--" Oh, I read that one already. "What is your program for reducing CO2 and methane in the atmosphere? Will you declare a moratorium on all new public and private fossil fuel infrastructure projects?" Well, we know neither of them will say yes to that. Mary in Inwood is going to ask our last question, which I think is a pointed question for both of them. Mary, you're on WNYC. Hello.

Mary: Hello. I would really like them to tell us why we should believe what they say when they make any kind of promise. Can they point to something that's happened that they said would happen? All these promises, Trump accuses the media of distorting or disbelieving him, everything he says. Why should we believe them? Can they show us why?

Brian Lehrer: Thank you very much. Mary gets the last word, the last question, that she would like to ask or have someone ask in the presidential debate tomorrow night. That's The Brian Lehrer Show for today, produced by Mary Croke, Lisa Allison, Amina Srna, Carl Boisrond, and Esperanza Rosenbaum. Zach Gottehrer-Cohen edits our national Politics podcast. Our intern this summer is Sasha Linden Cohen. Megan Ryan is the head of live radio. We had Juliana Fonda and Milton Ruiz at the audio controls. Stay tuned for All Of It.

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