BPR Full Show 9/10/20: What Trump Knew

Today on Boston Public Radio:

NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd discussed revelations about President Trump’s understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic, from journalist Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book. He also weighed in on whether Woodward ought to have shared clips from the interviews with the public earlier. 

We opened lines to talk with listeners about the president’s acknowledgment, made in interviews with journalist Bob Woodward, that he understood the seriousness of COVID-19 as far back as February, all while publicly downplaying the severity of the looming crisis.

Former Suffolk County Sheriff and Secretary of Public Safety Andrea Cabral weighed in on the recent move by the Department of Justice to represent President Trump in a defamation suit, and the wider legal implications of last week’s arrest of nine Boston police officers in an alleged overtime fraud scheme. 

Ali Noorani discussed whether changing attitudes around immigration could edge suburban voters towards Biden in November, and a hunger strike by detainees at an ICE detention center in Louisiana. Noorani is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Immigration Forum. His latest book is "There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration.” 

Former Mass. Education Secretary Paul Reville discussed tensions around the return of teachers to in-person learning, and recent allegations from a former Boston principal that she was unfairly targeted by parents with political connections. 

Andrew Bacevich discussed President Trump’s failure to end U.S. military involvement in the Middle East, and his recent piece for Salon, positing how Joe Biden ought to lead the nation should he win in November. Bacevich is the President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at Boston University, and author of "The Age of Illusions: How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory.”

We opened lines to ask listeners: are you mentally and emotionally prepared for fall and winter life during the coronavirus pandemic?