What A Day - Exit Sandman

Episode Date: April 9, 2020

Senator Bernie Sanders has dropped out of the 2020 presidential race, but his ideas may live on. Vice President Joe Biden is now the presumptive democratic presidential nominee. We look at how we got here.Then, we talked to Clare Malone, senior political writer at Five Thirty Eight, about the Defense Production Act - and why the administration may not fully understand it.And in headlines: Nicaragua's missing president, detainees released, and why President Trump thinks now is a good time to mine the moon.

It's Thursday, April 9th. I'm Akilah Hughes. And I'm Gideon Resnick. And this is What A Day, where we're reminding you, those celebrating Passover, to please stay six feet away from Elijah. Yeah, hit his chair with a Lysol wipe after he's gone, too. We still don't know if a biblical ghost can be a carrier. On today's show, a deeper look at the Defense Production Act and then some headlines. But first, the latest. If people want to wear a mask, that is okay. It protects others more than it protects you because it prevents you from breathing or speaking moistly on them. Oh, what a terrible image.

Speaking moistly. That was Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with a very evocative description of people spraying it and not saying it. But in news, Senator Bernie Sanders dropped out of the 2020 presidential race, leaving former Vice President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee. Let's begin with some of what Sanders had to say. We have taken on Wall Street, the insurance companies, the drug companies, the fossil fuel industry, the military industrial complex, therial complex, and the greed of the entire corporate elite. That struggle continues. While this campaign is coming to an end, our movement is not.

Yeah, so for some time, Sanders' inner circle was weighing what to do, as this presidential campaign was in a very weird state of suspended animation given the pandemic. And Sanders said a number of important things yesterday during his announcement, in addition to the clip there of, you know, saying that the campaign was over, but the broader movement was not. He also said that he just couldn't justify continuing a campaign that, in his words, you know, quote quote, cannot win while he and others want to do more work on COVID-19 in the Senate and otherwise. And he also said that he would remain on the ballot in states that haven't had primaries yet, even as he viewed Biden as the nominee. The reason why that specifically would be important is it gives people the opportunity to vote for him if they still want to and get the opportunity to.

And it allows Sanders to accrue more delegates and therefore more leverage on the ultimate Democratic Party platform. And even though he didn't win, Sanders is extremely popular with young voters. He won young voters, liberal voters, and in particular states, Latino voters by really wide margins in the primary. But he wasn't able to get the level of turnout he needed from those groups. And he struggled with many African American voters, too. Yeah. And, you know, it goes without saying Sanders ideas are popular. And he shifted the conversation in Democratic politics over the past five years, at least, you know, he galvanized young voters, as you mentioned, and inspired politicians like Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez to run. So when it comes to keeping those ideas alive, what are some of the issues we can expect

Sanders to try to sway Biden on? Yeah, there are many. I mean, looking back on his second run for the White House, Sanders campaigned on Medicare for all, the elimination of medical debt and student loan debt, a Green New Deal, a moratorium on deportations, and many other issues. So there still is a ton of daylight between him and Biden. And he could have a lot of leverage, particularly as the candidates signal now that they want to work together. Plus, looking back on the race, which seems like it was years and years ago, the situation could have turned out quite differently. For some time, it looked like Sanders may very well end up being the nominee. But now that he has made this decision, Biden has been effusive with praise, saying in a lengthy statement on Wednesday, quote,

while the Sanders campaign has been suspended, its impact on this election and on elections to come is far from over, end quote. But in addition to his legacy of ideas, I have to mention at the start of Passover 2, Sanders was the most high profile Jewish presidential candidate. And he spoke about losing members of his family in the Holocaust, as well as the dignity of Palestinian human rights. At my Seder table, a virtual one to be safe, he would be called a mensch. And he's definitely the only candidate to have also briefly broken up public enemy. I frankly still cannot follow that story from start to finish, but I think that's what happened. Yeah, I honestly don't think it's over. We're still waiting on another statement from FlavaFlav.

You know, one of these guys has got to just seal the deal on this and we can move on with our lives. Yeah, for sure. Well, in other news from the day, Gideon, can you take us through some of the other COVID-19 storylines playing out in the U.S.? Yeah, a few quick things to be aware of. There are growing concerns about COVID-19 cases at the Cook County Jail in Chicago, which could now be the largest known source of infections in the country at the moment, with at least 353 cases linked to the jail. It's a very scary situation. The New York State alone now has more confirmed cases

than any other country in the world. And there's also an important story in the New York Times with some troubling details about the initial response from the city and state government. It's definitely worth checking out in full. In relief package news, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that the White House's request for $250 billion in loans for small businesses would not pass the House without more money for hospitals and states, among other things.

And the National Academy of Sciences put out a report cautioning against the assumption that warm weather would just automatically lead the virus to fade. Yeah, sending love to Australia and Africa as they are very hot right now and also still going through COVID-19 with the rest of us. But internationally, several major stories to follow happening right now. So COVID-19 has reportedly struck the royal family in Saudi Arabia. And the New York Times is reporting that some 150 members of the royal family there are believed to have contracted the virus. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still in intensive care, but stable in responding to treatment for COVID-19. So, you know, things

can change quickly. We're going to keep you posted. And the EU's top scientists quit after just three months on the job following an hours-long meeting with no agreement on economic measures to fight the virus. There's a lot to unpack here, a lot of fighting between bureaucrats, but the takeaway is that the top science voice in the room in the EU has left. So while that's not everything happening in our new reality, it is what is big picture pertinent today. On Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a contract with General Motors to produce 30,000 ventilators that are set to be delivered to the national stockpile to help with the coronavirus pandemic. Some of those ventilators would come as soon as June 1st, with the rest delivered by the end of August. Now, this was done under the Defense Production Act. It's a law that originated in the 1950s and has become a hot topic today as people look for ways for the federal government

to coordinate the country's crisis response. Historically, the president has had a confusing stance on the DPA for weeks now. First, he invoked it and said he would be using it, and then he said he wouldn't. He's also said using the DPA would nationalize private industry. Yeah, but in reality, the act allows the government to contract with private companies to produce necessary supplies and guarantees the government will buy those supplies at market price. Another part of the law allows the government to manage the distribution of supplies.

You can see, then, why governors from states without medical supplies, they need jockeying on the private market to have to buy them, often at highly inflated prices, might want this thing to pass. So Claire Malone is a senior political writer for FiveThirtyEight who has been writing about the Defense Production Act. And we talked with her yesterday and started off by asking her if the DPA nationalizes private industry, as Trump repeatedly has suggested. It's kind of like a nuanced law to understand, right? It's we can't compel you, but we you have to take our contracts. We have to incentivize you. There's a lot of kind of squishy language. So it's pretty understandable to me that there's a lot of misunderstanding, not just by the public, but by people in the administration, even if that's not the thing you want to hear.

But no, it does not nationalize industry. Again, the government has to offer these companies essentially market price. But I think there is inconvenience for companies if they have to retrofit a factory, right? Or if they have to build something new, there is an inconvenience there, right? And so they are being build something new, there is an inconvenience there, right? And so it is a, they are being paid for it, but it is certainly- Yeah, I'm like, it doesn't seem as inconvenient as a pandemic for everyone else who can't work, but I get it.

It is a little, it's not the best. It is this interesting thing where the US hasn't had this kind of collective action effort in a couple of generations. So it's a different thing for, I think, industry to wrap its head around too. We've talked about the notion that the administration might be confused about the extent of the act and its application in this particular moment. But there was reporting that they had used it thousands of times, in fact, in response

to hurricanes for various military production, I think. Can you talk about that and why this time it feels different in terms of the resistance that's there? Sure. To be fair to the administration, there are a couple clauses of the act. And so the first clause, which is most commonly used, typically by FEMA. So, you know, Jared Kushner probably wasn't dealing with the minutiae of, you know, Puerto Rican hurricane relief. FEMA uses the first power of the DPA, which is basically to jump the line in the supply chain, right? So if people need a lot of medical supplies, the government gets to say, yeah, you fill our contracts first. And so that power is pretty routinely used, as is a little bit more so the power of distributing emergency supplies. The sort of third power of compelling industry or

incentivizing industry to produce things is new. And the people within FEMA at the Trump administration understand those powers. I think where you get to the disconnect, I mean, you saw Jared Kushner in the White House briefing room last week, earlier this week, time runs together, saying, you know, our federal stockpile is not for the states. Now, that's wrong, right? That is. Yeah, that's not that's not correct. And that's kind of what I mean is that there are there are certainly some people within the administration who know what's happening. But I think there are also people in power and decision makers who either willfully misunderstand the act or just do misunderstand the act and its powers because there has been a lot of confusion around it. For sure. And I mean, you know, my personal feeling is I don't think Jared Kushner has a real strong understanding of anything and should not be addressing the American people for any reason. But clearly that did cause most of the confusion about these stockpiles. You know, when you were reporting, though, on how effective the full force of the DPA would be, did you get a sense of what that would look like? Is that something that needed to happen

much earlier? I think it probably would have been to ramp up production of these things. You know, if GM had started to make these ventilators, you know, earlier, yes, you would see you would see this stuff much sooner. But the fact that I think the uncomfortable and unfortunate fact of all this is, is that the United States government was ill prepared for the pandemic. It did not have, you know, you're hearing about expired medical supplies in stockpiles. This was a problem that was almost, you know, there was a seed already in the ground. And so I don't think an earlier implementation of the DPA would have made a difference on that point, right? There are still thousands and thousands of ventilators that need to get to people in New York. You know, we're seeing, you know, like the Patriots flying in, the Patriots plane flying in masks from China. That's frankly

a more realistic procurement for us in the immediate term is getting masks and supplies from places overseas, often China, that make these supplies. And again, we're in a globalized world and we are competing with all of the other countries in the world that have this pandemic problem. And you do see, you know, you do see these glimmers of Trump wanting to keep masks in the United States and, you know, we don't want to sell the masks to Canada. Or the Times did some interesting, you know, reporting last week on Trump trying to buy the German company that is researching the vaccine for COVID-19. So you do see politics, you know, the kind of protectionist America first politics of the Trump administration playing in in those certain ways. But you kind of can't fight globalism, right? Especially when we're all at whim to market prices. That was Claire Malone, a senior political writer for FiveThirtyEight.

If you want to learn more about the DPA, Cricket has a great explainer video about it on our YouTube channel. So head over to YouTube.com slash cricket media. Somehow, someway, WOD Squad, we have made it to Thursday. You know, the concept of time has a new meaning in 2020, which is no meaning. But either way, we also made it to the part of the show where we check in to see how we're holding up in our little houses. So, giddy old sport, do you have a nighttime routine

that helps you unwind after another hard day of news? Normally, I'll try to cook slash eat right after we're done. And then I toggle between a game of 2K or a movie. I really should be, I know that I should be like reading or doing something better for my brain.

There's no should in a pandemic. It's true. The rules are absolutely gone. But that's typically how it goes. What advice do you have for leaving work at work when work is now also where we live? Well, I don't know if I have any advice, but I'm open to receiving some. But, you know, I also try to unwind after we're done recording. We record this at night. It comes out in the morning. You're likely having your coffee right now listening to it. I like to have some

wine. Yeah, I like to drink a little bit of wine, but I'm also rationing my wine. So we like to toggle between that and other legalized things that will help me chill out. And then I watch like one of three movies. I have tried and failed repeatedly to watch new stuff, but it always comes back down to gentlemen prefer blondes. So how many times have you watched that alone in this quarantine? I mean, at least five times. Wow. And I had watched it a bunch before that.

I just find it relaxing. And I think when you know what's going to happen, that's like an important part of healing in a time like this. Yes. I'm like, I know when this movie ends. I know exactly where we are. There's no fear or uncertainty. The predictability is definitely comforting.

That's a nice way of looking at it. Yeah. And you know what? That was our temperature check for Thursday. And with any luck, we'll be nice and chill for our Friday temperature check, too. Let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines. Over 160 immigrants who are considered at risk to contract the coronavirus have been released from detention. That includes detainees who are older, pregnant, or who have other risk factors consistent with the CDC's guidelines.

They're expected to be released back into the community, hopefully to reunite with family or friends. Immigration and Customs Enforcement put out a statement saying they've identified 600 detainees for possible release due to their vulnerability statuses. Advocates say that closed quarters and the lack of sanitation supplies and face masks make detention centers ripe for mass infections. At this point, 32 people in ICE custody have tested positive for the virus, as well as 11 staff members across different facilities. Reports of hunger strikes are also on the rise as fears of the pandemic has spread. President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua has been missing from public view since March 12th, sparking anger from Nicaraguans who are seeking guidance in the time of a global pandemic. Media outlets are speculating that he is self-isolating, very sick, or in the extreme cases, dead.

His VP and wife have been in charge of COVID-19 efforts in the country, which have been controversial, to say the least. The government refuses to close down schools, shops and its own borders. It even continues to sponsor outdoor festivals and political rallies, including a march called Love in a Time of COVID-19. No official comment has been made on Ortega's whereabouts, but officials insist that he's continuing to lead the country and sends Nicaraguans, quote, affectionate hugs, which is very high on the list of things no one wants when they're fighting off a very contagious virus. Yeah, no hugs for me. Thank you. I'm all good. President Trump signed an executive order this week to authorize mining on the moon.

While the world fights off coronavirus, DJT still makes time to consider space fracking. The executive order also applies to other celestial bodies, and it says that the U.S. doesn't consider space to be a, quote, global commons that would require them to get international agreement before using resources. Space is technically outside of the globe. It's trapped. The European Space Agency made similar moves late last year. They seem more focused on resource gathering, while America's mining plans have more to do with building sustainable settlements, which would get the U.S. closer to their goal of reaching Mars, where they can go full Astro Daniel plane view and drill towards the planet's center until they hit that hot Martian crude. I'm assuming this is from The Martian, a movie I have not seen.

It is not, but we'll talk later. Oh, no. All right. Well, Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler announced Wednesday that she will sell off her investment portfolio after facing criticism for sketchy stock trades she made before coronavirus crashed the market. Loeffler and her husband, who is the CEO of the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange, sold millions of dollars in stocks in the weeks following a senator's only briefing on the threat of coronavirus, allowing them to avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars of losses.

In an op-ed titled, I Never Traded on Coronavirus Information, Loeffler promised to move her remaining stock holdings into mutual funds and exchange traded funds to be controlled by third-party advisors. Loeffler is up for re-election this year and polling pretty badly, so anything she can do to stop people from thinking of her as Southern Lady Bernie Madoff is probably a good move. And those are the headlines. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, toss us a pizza dough and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not that one page at the end of books where they describe the font 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 Gideon Resnick. And good luck with the hot Martian crude.

I'm going to have to explain a lot of references in this one. We have time. What a Day is a product of Crooked Media. 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 Gillyard and Kashaka.