Donald Trump

Former Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson has a lot to say about a number of issues, including a Rochester Police Department officer pepper spraying a nine-year-old girl, and the inauguration of the new president. Johnson has roots in the south and frequently commented on support for former President Trump during his visits back home. He joins us to talk about where the country goes next.

Our guest:

• Bill Johnson, former mayor of the City of Rochester

We talk with local legal and political science experts about national conversations surrounding impeachment and the possible use of the 25th Amendment. On Monday, House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment against President Trump. A vote is scheduled for Wednesday to charge Trump with “inciting violence against the government of the United States.”

Our guests explain what we need to know about impeachment, the 25th Amendment, and what could happen next. Our guests:

• Aaron Herold, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, coordinator of Legal Studies, and co-director of the Forum on Constitutionalism and Democracy at SUNY Geneseo
• Jeremy Sher, founding partner and litigation attorney at Adams Leclair LLP, and co-leader of Indivisible Rochester
  

We discuss the extraordinary and horrific events that unfolded in Washington, D.C. Wednesday. We're joined by people who have worked in the U.S. Capitol.

Our guests:

• Sarah Clark, New York State Assemblymember, 136th District, who formerly worked for Senator Hillary Clinton and served as Deputy State Director for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
• Alex Yudelson, former Obama White House Aide

Abe Foxman, the past president of the Anti-Defamation League, said that Donald Trump pulled the lid off the sewer of American bigotry. Foxman is participating virtually in an event sponsored by Nazareth College. The question now is, what is the best path to eliminating bigotry in this country?

Our guests:

• Abraham Foxman, director and chairman of the Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City 
• Hava Leipzig Holzhauer, executive director of the Konar Center for Tolerance and Jewish Studies at Nazareth College
  

The New York Times has obtained Donald Trump's tax information, which journalists have been seeking for many years now. They report that the president paid exactly $750 in total taxes in 2016, the same in 2017, and zero in most other years. That's because the president reported massive business losses, and he wrote off a number of other expensive items -- like haircuts. Critics say the president is bound to be in trouble with the IRS for fudging the books. Supporters say that he simply did what most people would do: reduce your tax bill by whatever means necessary.

Journalist David Cay Johnston has written more about the American tax code than just about any other reporter. He joins us to discuss the president's tax burden, and what we know about legal deductions. Our guest:

• David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and editor-in-chief of DCReport

As the number of COVID-19 cases grows in western New York and the Finger Lakes, the supply of protective gear for medical workers is dwindling.

In particular, N95 masks, which health care workers use to protect themselves against the virus in close clinical settings, are running low.

Doctors and administrators at local health care systems have been quick to temper concerns, saying there is not an immediate crisis, but they are worried about running out of important equipment before supplies can be replenished.

We sit down with Princeton University history professor, Julian Zelizer. Zelizer is a scholar of American political history, with a focus on the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century. He joins us to discuss the roots of President Trump in American politics, the current impeachment inquiry, and his thoughts on the impact of this most recent election in states like Virginia and Kentucky, where Democrats won big. He's in Rochester for a presentation at the University of Rochester.

In studio:

• Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he had a “positive” meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday at the White House to talk about funding for a key train tunnel connecting Manhattan to New Jersey.

Cuomo spent the primary and general election season berating Trump and his policies, including at an appearance last summer at a Brooklyn church.

Following the mass shooting in Pittsburgh, we sit down with Norm Ornstein, a longtime political commentator and author. He’s won awards for diagnosing America’s political dysfunction, and he’s made a mark in government with his work on McCain-Feingold, election reform, and more. Ornstein is a guest of the Jewish Book Festival at the JCC.

In studio:

• Norm Ornstein, political commentator and author
• Andrea Miller, director of the Rochester Jewish Book Festival