What A Day - Coming Out Of The Woodward

Episode Date: September 10, 2020

Recorded interviews of Donald Trump by Bob Woodward show he understood the threat of coronavirus in February, while he insisted in public it would “disappear” and was no worse than the seasonal flu. Trump addressed these revelations at a press conference yesterday, confirming that he intentionally downplayed the virus because he’s a "cheerleader" for the country.Wildfires are continuing to burn across the West, leading to mandatory evacuations for tens of thousands of people, and a blanket of smoke covering much of the Bay Area. High temperatures resulting from climate change have set the perfect conditions for this year's unprecedented rapid scale and spread of fires. And in headlines: the largest refugee camp in Europe was almost totally destroyed, Caster Semenya lost her appeal to compete in the next Olympics, and a whistleblower alleges that DHS downplayed the threat of white supremacy and Russian election interference.Links:Christian Cooper's comic book "It's A Bird" rb.gy/bdecslWildfire Relief Fund calfund.org/wildfire-relief-fund/

What a day is brought to you by Athletic Greens, the all-in-one daily drink for better health and peak performance. So I really like Athletic Greens because it's super convenient. They come in little pouches that are already measured out for you to pour into your water bottle and get all of those great nutrients. Because look, your girl is not eating enough vegetables. I'm sorry, doctor. I am working on it. But hey, even with a balanced diet, it's really difficult to cover all of your nutritional bases. And that's where Athletic Greens will help.

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filling in for Gideon Resnick. And this is What A Day, where we're also nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize from the far-right Norwegian guy who nominated Trump. Yeah, it's hard to pin down that guy's preferences, but I guess he loves this podcast. You know, we got lots of fans. We're not responsible for them. Alyssa, thank you so much for filling in today. For those of you who don't know, why don't you know? But Alyssa, previously served as President Obama's White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, is the co-host of one of our favorite podcasts, Hysteria, and is one of my favorite colleagues at Crooked. I love you. I stan. Welcome.

You're never going to get rid of me. This seat feels so comfortable. I'm so at home. Just dial in every time. Just dial in. I've got the number now. There you go. All right. Well, on today's show, we'll talk about the size and scope of the fires burning in the West, then some headlines. But first, the bottom. Now we hear you. Oh yeah. Okay. That was incredible. And it was also the opening to Tuesday night's live zoom reading of the golden girls starring Alfre Woodard, Tracy Ellis Ross, and Regina King and an all-black reboot. It was a charity event supporting the organization Color of Change, and there may be more to come.

So, Alyssa, did you catch it? I did catch it. I did catch it. And the women were extraordinary. But let me just say, Aaron Scott's reimagining of the theme song, it made me dance in my seat. It made me dance in my seat. It made me dance in my seat. Let me just say, Akilah, thank you for being a friend. I wish we could reboot 2020. Yeah, honestly, 100% same. Well, other news. So yesterday, the Washington Post and CNN

published details from journalist Bob Woodward's upcoming book. It's called Rage, which is based in part on a series of interviews Woodward did with Trump earlier this year. In those interviews, Trump admitted that the coronavirus was, quote, deadly stuff all the way back in early February. And in a March interview, he admitted that he deliberately downplayed the threat of the virus. Here's a few clips from those interviews. You just breathe the air. That's how it's passed. And so that's a very tricky one. That's a very delicate one. It's also more deadly than your, you know, your even your strenuous flus. Now it's turning out it's not just old people, Bob, which is today and yesterday.

Some startling facts came out. It's not just old, older people to plenty of young people. Well, I think Bob, really, to be honest with you, I wanted to, I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down. Yes. Because I don't want to create a panic. I think rage is a good title for the book because I am livid. I was shaking. Yes, it's too much. All right. Well, now that's what Trump was saying in private. His definition of private is calling up a journalist to talk on the record 18 different times. But in public, at the same time, he was suggesting that the virus was no worse than the seasonal flu, that the media and Democrats were exaggerating the danger and that the U.S. had it under control.

So here's a montage of Trump's public statements from February and March, courtesy of The Washington Post. Now, the virus that we're talking about having to do, you know, a lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat. I think that's a problem that's going to go away. When you have 15 people and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero. It's going to disappear one One day, it's like a miracle. It will disappear. You have to be calm. It'll go away. It will go away. Just stay calm.

It's going to go away. It's going to go away. It will go away. You know it is going away. It didn't. It definitely did not go away. Also, by the way, CDC guidelines say that during a pandemic, leaders should not, quote, overpromise or foster unrealistic expectations.

So, you know, another A plus for Trump. All right, Alyssa, there are a bunch of other revelations from the book, but let's just start with this one. What's your reaction? I mean, Akilah, just because it's not shocking doesn't mean it isn't disturbing, right? Yeah. Do you think these are actual lives that we're talking about just because he could fix a storm with a Sharpie, which also didn't work? These aren't stick figures he's drawing with a Sharpie. I mean, could you imagine any other context if he were the CEO of a business misrepresenting the truth or I don't know, a cattle rancher hiding a potential E. coli outbreak? Seems like it would

be a problem. Yeah. I mean, like I, in my mind, I'm thinking about cigarettes. I'm like, if cigarettes killed you in two weeks and the person was like, no, it's fine. Breathe them in. Go outside with your friends and breathe them. It'll go away in a few weeks. Like we would all be up in arms. Like you just don't get away with something like that. Well, let's talk about how the administration is trying to respond to this. So yesterday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who I remember said she would never lie to the press, said, quote, The president never downplayed the virus. But three hours later, Trump contradicted her, saying he did downplay it because he's, quote, a cheerleader for the country and didn't want to frighten people. Alyssa, please just help me understand.

I mean, I'll say this. She is unflappable. Like a tank, she knows only one direction, and that is forward. It's true. I mean, look, the secondary response was to try to distract us by announcing a list of potential SCOTUS judges. God help us. God protect RBG, actually. Most of these judges were from battleground states, mostly who hate women's bodies, that Trump would nominate if given a second term. On the list, Senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and Josh Hawley. Minutes later,

Cotton tweeted, it's time for Roe v. Wade to go, which basically was the least surprising thing that happened yesterday. Also, Trump campaign released monthly fundraising numbers. His number, 210 million in August, big by historical standards, but 150 million less than Biden's August haul. You know, I love that. I'm actually very happy that he made less money, but also what the fuck? Like no one wants to hear about Ted Cruz. And I guess that's the thing. It's like, you know, what helps bad news go down? More bad news, I guess. Don't look over there. Like they'll just give you a shot in one arm to distract you from the one or the other. I don't really know. All this time, we've wondered what Ted Cruz is, what the price of Ted Cruz's support

since Trump accused his father of killing JFK. Now we know. It was the Supreme Court. A lifetime appointment. Oh, well, last part of this story before we move on. There was other news in the book, according to Woodward's reporting. So Trump's former defense secretary, Jim Mattis, said the president was, quote, dangerous and unfit. I'm not surprised by this. And the NSA and CIA have evidence Russia placed malware in the election registration systems of at least two Florida counties that could have erased voter names from the rolls. But thankfully, the malware wasn't activated. Alyssa, was there anything else that stood out to you?

I mean, I have to say, I think my big takeaway is that there is little bravery in talking to Bob Woodward and only Bob Woodward when the health and safety of Americans is at stake, Mattis and former director for national intelligence Dan Coats discussed whether they should speak out against Trump publicly. I guess we are all supposed to be glad they talked about it. OK. Yeah. Like in hindsight, someone knew. So that was good. Cool. And like as two women who want their books to sell, I get having a launch strategy.

But this is critical information the American people deserved many, many months ago. That's exactly right. And you know what? This entire administration has been just super into writing books that could have helped us if we heard it in the first place. But let's just move on to another story outside of DC. Wildfires are continuing to burn in California, Oregon, Washington state, and elsewhere across the West, fueled by strong winds and recent heat waves. Right. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated, are evacuating, and even more are awaiting potential evacuation orders that could come as the fire spread. It's a rapidly changing situation with some terrifying accounts. For

example, there was a story earlier this week about people in Northern California who were trapped by the Creek Fire being told to shelter in place, but they were also told to be ready to jump into the water from a nearby reservoir if necessary. Akilah, I've been watching this all from New York feeling pretty worried. I mean, did you see those pictures from people in the Bay Area of the orange smoke-filled sky? Yeah, I've honestly never seen anything more apocalyptic, I don't think. It's just, I mean, how is that what the world looks like? But in Donald Trump's

America, the sky is orange. But, you know, in all seriousness, the smoke is a huge air quality issue for residents, but also it makes it harder for firefighters to do their jobs, and it's unsafe for pilots to fly to survey the fires. And just to put some numbers to it, in California, more than 2.5 million acres have burned so far this year, which is 20 times the acreage that burned at this point last year. In Oregon, local officials are estimating that over 1,000 homes were lost when fires burned through two small towns earlier this week. There are reports that two people have died, but authorities are still assessing and working through rescue operations. In Washington, where the fires are the worst they've seen in over a decade, a one-year-old died after his family evacuated a fire

and were found on the banks of the Columbia River yesterday morning. Big picture, the number of fires at one time, the size of them, how fast they're spreading, none of that's normal. And, Akilah, this is very much linked to climate change, according to experts and anyone who believes in science. But people are also spreading these fires, right? Yeah. And, you know, climate change really does just set up the conditions. So high temperatures dry out the land. That makes really good fuel for fires.

And the West has been experiencing major heat waves, but it doesn't take record high temps to have an effect. One study found that since the early 1970s, an increase of just 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit very likely caused more than an eightfold increase in yearly summer forest fires in California. But to your point about people starting these, that's true. So experts say more often than not, people are igniting them, like that gender reveal party that set off a fire in Southern California a few days ago. Which, again, if I was having a kid and the whole forest burned down, I'd probably be like, what's coming out of me? Let me have some doctor's

appointments to see what's up. But it's climate change that allows these fires to rage bigger than ever. So we're going to keep tracking this. If you want to help out, we'll put some links to places to donate in our show notes. Otherwise, please stay safe. And that's the latest. It's Thursday WOD Squad. And for today's Tim Check, we're talking about a comic book released yesterday by Christian Cooper. He's a Central Park birdwatcher who was threatened by a white woman back in May when he told her to put her dog on a leash. Before that, he was also a comic book writer who worked at Marvel. Cooper's new book is called It's a Bird, and it's about a black teen birdwatcher who has an experience similar to Cooper's, while also reflecting on the lives of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. It's free online. It's worth reading. There's a link in our show notes.

So Alyssa, on the subject of comic books, what is your ideal superpower? If I had to pick an ideal superpower, I think it would be I would like to fly, but I'd also like the power to never get hot because I don't function at high temperatures. And so if I could be a cool flying superhero, I really think I'd be unstoppable.

What about you? I love that. I mean, just, you know, to your point, I think that like regulating your own body temperature is something that I'm very aware of being a problem. I'm consistently turning on a fan and turning one off. So, you know, I actually think that's a really great one. It's better than mine.

If I had to choose a superpower, I would probably, I would want to read people's minds. Not for like blackmail purposes, but I'm like, I wonder what that person's thinking when this insane thing is happening. And especially now when like, you can tell that we're all just, you know, going through the motions of life.

And lots of people are on TV trying to defend nonsense. I just want to hear what's really in there. I just want to know. I'm worried if I could read minds, I'd find out my cats don't love me. Oh my gosh. They would be like, she's actually our queen. And if she knows that, if we show even a little deference,

you know, the power dynamic's going to end here. What a spring it would put in my step. Oh my goodness. Well, just like that's going to end here. What a spring it would put in my step. Oh my goodness. Well, just like that, we checked our temps. Everybody stay safe. We hope you turn into superheroes and we will check in with you all again tomorrow. Let's wrap up with some headlines.

Headlines. The largest refugee camp in Europe was almost completely destroyed by massive fires on Tuesday night. Moria, a refugee encampment on the Greek island of Lesbos, was home to over 12,000 people who hoped to eventually reach northern Europe. Advocacy groups described the encampment as a humanitarian disaster even before the fires, citing overcrowding and terrible living conditions. Officials say the fires were started Tuesday night by a group of camp residents who were angry they were forced to quarantine after 35 people tested positive for COVID-19. A researcher at Human Rights Watch blamed the EU and the Greek government

for not working to improve conditions inside of Moria, which might have prevented this from happening. Now thousands of people are left without homes. For their part, the European Commission pledged yesterday to help relocate over 400 unaccompanied minors from the camp. Two-time South African Olympic track champion Kastor Semenya lost her appeal on Tuesday to compete in the 800-meter race at the Tokyo Olympics. The news came two years after the World Athletics Organization passed regulations that would have required Semenya to take drugs to lower her testosterone levels to compete in certain women's events. Semenya's testosterone is naturally elevated as a result of a rare genetic condition. Critics have called the World Athletics Regulations discriminatory and said they

were based on inadequate science. The World Medical Association also pointed out the potential harm of requiring athletes to take hormone therapy they do not need. In a statement, Semenya said, quote, I am very disappointed by this ruling, but refuse to let World Athletics drug me or stop me from being who I am. If you want to learn more about Semenya, Crooked's Hall of Shame podcast did a great episode on her called I Am a Woman and I Am Fast. Trump managed to secure the best lawyers money can buy.

The lawyers are the government and the person buying them is actually taxpayers. The Department of Justice moved on Tuesday to replace Trump's private legal team in a defamation case brought by author E.G. Carroll, who alleges Trump raped her in the 1990s. Trump denied Carroll's claims in 2019, saying she was lying and that she was not his, quote, type, which is what led to the defamation suit. To move Trump's case, DOJ lawyers argued that his denials were part of his duties as the president. This which could lead to the case's dismissal, because if the defendant is the U.S. government instead of Trump, it'll be eligible for broad protections that individuals don't receive. Attorney General Bill Barr defended the move yesterday, suggesting that the extreme negative reaction it's gotten is the result of our, quote, bizarre political environment. Yes, it is bizarre that a guy who's been accused of sexual assault by at least 25 women is our

president. Also bizarre that he can just tap out and say, nah, I'm good when he faces another accusation. The switch still needs approval from the courts, which legal scholars say it's likely to get. Moving down the list of federal agencies that do the opposite of what their name is now, the Department of Homeland Security got hit with a whistleblower complaint yesterday by an official who says he had to alter his reports to better fit with Trump's political messaging. Of course he did. Brian Murphy was allegedly directed by acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and second-in-command Ken Cuccinelli, both Trump appointees, to downplay the threat of white supremacy and play up the threat of

leftist movements like Antifa. Murphy also claims Wolf told him to stop compiling intelligence reports on Russia, which is actively helping Trump in the election, and focus on interference from China and Iran, which are not. They're truly stretching the definition of intelligence at this point. Following the news, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, said if Murphy's claims are true,

DHS has, quote, put our nation and its security at grave risk. And those are the headlines. Quick announcement before we go. This week, Hysteria, the lovely podcast hosted by Alyssa Mastromonaco and Aaron Ryan, has on Academy Award-winning actress and activist Jane Fonda. We talked to Jane and the executive director of Greenpeace, Annie Leonard, about protesting for action on climate change at the White House and the urgency needed to literally save the planet. I cannot wait to listen. And by

the way, if you haven't already, subscribe to Hysteria wherever you get your podcasts. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, give us a superpower and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just unbiased intelligence reports like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Akilah Hughes. I'm Alyssa Mastromonaco. And wish us luck with our Nobel Peace Prize.

I can't wait. We're going to get it. Winners. What a Day is a Crooked Media production. It's recorded and mixed by Charlotte Landis. Sonia Tun is our assistant producer. Our head writer is John Milstein and our senior producer is Katie Long. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kshaka.