Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

The President yesterday appointed Vice President Pence to oversee efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus. Democrats on the Hill bemoaned the selection of Pence, who as governor failed to bring an Indiana HIV outbreak under control, rather than a qualified public health expert. Ahead of Saturday's primary contest in South Carolina, a local South Carolina newspaper reports that various Republican groups are organizing themselves under what they're calling, "Operation Chaos" to take advantage of the state's open primary and support Sanders, against whom they believe President Trump has a better chance of winning. In the polls, Joe Biden's lead appears to be growing. That's following an endorsement by Rep. Jim Clyburn, a misleading attack ad from a Trump Super PAC using President Obama's voice to insinuate that his former Vice President will sell out Black voters, and a Tuesday debate from which Biden emerged unscathed as frontrunner Sanders took most of the heat. On Today's Show:Jeanne Whalen, global business reporter for The Washington Post, talks about how the coronavirus panic has affected business and global trade, including how U.S. companies are still waiting for a dizzying array of products from stalled Chinese factories.

Having emerged as the front-runner after his Nevada landslide last weekend, Bernie Sanders went into last night's Democratic primary debate in South Carolina with a target on his back. Far from a singular silver bullet, Sanders' opponents each took their own tack in coming for the Senator from Vermont, who seemed to deflect them all, earning him monikers from political analysts like "The Teflon Man." Going into the debate, from which Joe Biden emerged largely un-attacked and thus unscathed, polls show the former Vice President with a widening lead in South Carolina's Primary on Saturday. Poll analysis website 538 project that Sanders will win a significant plurality of the delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday next week, after which 61 percent of the nomination delegates will be apportioned.  On Today's Show: Jonathan Capehart, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and member of The Washington Post editorial board, breaks down the debate in South Carolina where frontrunner Bernie Sanders is endure attacks from all sides.

The democratic presidential candidates will debate for the last time before the South Carolina primary this Saturday, and Super Tuesday a week from today. After Sanders' broad win in Nevada, expect his fellow campaigners to take aim at him from the dais. Sanders has recently come under fire from House Democrats representing purple districts, concerned that a lack of moderation at the top of the presidential ticket could cost them their seats. Bloomberg, who had enjoyed a brief honeymoon period in the national media, has likewise come under fire for remarks he made in support of Harvey Weinstein that Sanders supporters re-surfaced following the Hollywood mogul's conviction on two sexual assault charges. Financial markets stumbled amid reports that China's coronavirus crisis has broken out into South Korea, Italy and Iran. Compounding the concerns of Wall Street are findings that the US's rollout of response and prevention measures has been bungled, including a CDC push for increased testing that the CDC is not equipped to carry out, an expansion of Trump's travel ban to include countries that have to do with neither terrorism nor the virus, and a history of budget cuts over the years that are proving to hamper the administration's ability to respond now.  On today's show: Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY 18), member of the House Intelligence Committee, talks about the firing of the acting Director of National Intelligence, reports of Russian interference in the 2020 campaigns, and other 2020 news.

On Saturday, Bernie Sanders won a landslide victory in the Nevada caucus, walking away with the support of nearly 47 percent of all participants. The Silver State caucus was a significant bellwether for the nomination contest, given that the state is a much more accurate demographic cross-section of the Democratic party than Iowa and New Hampshire, which precede it. Sanders' win in Nevada demonstrates his popularity among Latinos. The upcoming South Carolina primary is expected to likewise indicate how the candidates will fare among African American voters. After Sanders' surprisingly strong showing in Nevada, establishment and centrist Democrats are reportedly increasingly panicked, fearing that nominating him would all but ensure a second term for President Trump. Sanders' success comes after reports that both he and Congressional intelligence committees were briefed on efforts by Russia to support Sanders' bid for the nomination.  On today's show: Beth Fouhy, senior politics editor at NBC News and MSNBC, discusses the latest political news.

In the wake of an important Nevada union's decision not to endorse any candidate because of their concerns over the health care proposals across the board, a subset of Sanders voters reportedly took to social media to harass and harangue the union.  On today's show: Jane McAlevey, labor and environmental organizer, post doctoral fellow in the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School and the author of A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy, discusses how the candidates are courting organized labor, and how unions' political capital could play in the primary and general elections.

In a classified briefing, Members of Congress were warned that Russia is continuing its efforts to meddle in the 2020 election, and that their activities include attempts to tip the scales in the Democratic primary. Trump is reportedly angry that the briefing took place, concerned that the disclosure could be weaponized against him once his campaign to hold the White House shifts into high gear. The acting Director of National Intelligence was removed from his post over the congressional briefing, which originated in his office. As Bernie Sanders continues to lead in the polls of several key states, down-ticket Republican incumbents and the advocacy groups trying to keep them in the Capitol, have begun to tie Democratic challengers to Sanders by painting him as the standard bearer for the party. They reportedly hope to win back suburban voters who have been turned off by President Trump by warning — perhaps with hyperbole — that the alternative is state-controlled socialism. Other than billionaire Bloomberg's self-funded campaign, Sanders appears to be the only candidate going into the critical March primaries with a healthy financial warchest. According to financial disclosures released yesterday, the combined cash held by the Biden, Buttigieg and Klobuchar and Warren campaigns totals just above Sanders' $17 million.  On today's show: Domenico Montanaro, NPR's senior political editor and correspondent, discusses recent reports that the firing of acting DNI Joseph McGuire was related to his staff briefing Congress on a major election security issue ahead of the 2020 presidential contest. 

With just one more debate to go before Super Tuesday, when a third of all the delegates will be apportioned, Democratic hopefuls pulled out all the stops. Klobuchar and Buttigeig duked it out over the party's center. Biden, took aim at Sanders, the field's apparent front-runner. Warren, a policy heavyweight who has so far fallen short of the upper tier, took swings at everyone. And everyone took swings at Mike Bloomberg, a newcomer to the debate stage who has largely avoided scrutiny by shunning the rallies and town-halls of retail politics, opting instead for massive ad-buys that befit a billionaire's self-funded campaign. Warren challenged him directly to lift the non-disclosure agreements that are reportedly preventing women from coming forward with allegations of workplace gender discrimination against the former mayor. On today's show:Julie Roginsky, advocate, activist, political consultant, former FOX News contributor, a plaintiff in the harassment suit against Roger Ailes, and co-founder of Lift Our Voices, a non-profit that pushes for an end to non-disclosure agreements s. 

Trump is boldly asserting his authority over the criminal justice system, demanding a new trial for his friend Roger Stone, and granting clemency to several white-collar criminals. While Attorney General Barr has been accused of working on behalf of the president's personal interests, Trump's latest plays with power may be enough to test their working relationship.     On today's show: Quinta Jurecic, managing editor of Lawfare, talks about the president's pardon power, and the complicated relationship between the president and the Attorney General.

Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg just qualified for the Nevada debate, polling 19 percent among Democrats nationally.  So Amy Klobuchar gets her wish to meet him on stage, along with Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and Elizabeth Warren.  The NPR/PBS/Marist poll of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents has Sanders in the lead with 31 percent support, followed by Bloomberg. On today's show: Dan Pfeiffer, a co-host on Pod Save America and former White House communications director under President Obama, introduces his new book Un-Trumping America: A Plan to Make America a Democracy Again (Twelve, 2020), questions how different "Trump-ism" is from previous GOP positions and reacts to the news that Michael Bloomberg will join the other qualifying Democrats on stage to debate in Nevada.  

While most of the political media was focused on the results of the New Hampshire primary last Thursday (and the pivot to Nevada and South Carolina), former Vice President Joe Biden was in New York City attending two big donor fundraisers, despite the fact that the state won’t hold its primary until April. Meanwhile, Pete Buttigieg was in Indianapolis on Thursday and San Francisco on Friday for the same reason.  Various news organizations, however, report on an increasingly likely scenario of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senator Bernie Sanders as being the last two Democratic candidates who can afford to remain in the race, but based on entirely opposite financial models. On Today's Show:  Maggie Severns, Politico reporter covering money in politics, discusses the latest political news and talks about how the campaigns are poised to move past the early states and on to Super Tuesday.