Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
News

WATCH: Patti Smith Croons to Brooklyn Jews, Says She Could Be President

Health has been an issue in this presidential election, with Donald Trump accusing Hillary Clinton of lacking the physical stamina to lead the nation.

Punk rocker Patti Smith has a message to her Jewish fans — don’t believe the Donald’s hype.

“I have a chronic cough. If I have a coughing spell… don’t think I got something that you’ll catch,” she said, in an event at Park Slope’s Beth Elohim synagogue. “I am perfectly fit to govern the United States of America,” she added.

It was a clear reference to the controversy over Clinton’s health that emerged in September, when after a bad hacking episode, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Trump cited her short term illness as evidence that she was not healthy enough to be president.

At the synagogue event, Smith read passages from her new book “M Train” — a memoir of her adventures and misadventures through the decades — and sang classics like “Pale Blue Eyes” and “Because the Night.”

She also spoke about her deep affection for Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground frontman who died three years ago.

“I had just seen him two weeks before in Omen, a favorite restaurant that serves Kyoto-style food,” she recalled, adding that she told him she loved him at that encounter.

Smith gained icon status in the ‘70’s, as part of a group of bohemians including Reed, who launched the punk rock style. She created her own ensemble, the Patti Smith Group. Later, she wrote a number of memoirs chronicling those experiences. She lives in the Rockaway section of Queens.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren

We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.

With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.

—  Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief 

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.