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It's the Brian Laird Show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone.

Before we really get going on specifics today, as a little preamble to our main segments,

a restatement of where we are here on April 9th, 80 days now into the Trump administration,

around the world and 80 days.

We're evaluating and hearing your voices on not just policies and politics as usual,

but also on the question, is this what democracy looks like, right?

Where are we on the spectrum every day from democracy to autocracy?

Here's a clip of Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy with David Remnick on the New Yorker

Radio Hour week before last, as Murphy posed a tough question from his point of view for his

Democratic Party. Is this a normal moment where you can just keep on punching Donald Trump

and pushing down his approval ratings and

eventually win the 2026 election and set up a potential win in 2028. Or is there a pretty good

chance that we're not going to have a free election in 26? You believe that's a possibility?

100%. Oh, every single day, I think the chances are growing that we will not have a free and fair

election in 2026. Senator Chris Murphy will play a longer version of that clip and talk more about

where we are on that scale and how much the Supreme Court is starting to play a role with law professor

Kate Shaw later in the show. But what about this year's election? We'll begin today with our

usual Wednesday visit from WNYC and Gothamist City Hall reporter Elizabeth Kim. You know, we have been

calling her our lead Eric Adams reporter, right, during the heart of Mayor Adams' term, as Liz has been coming

on to this each week after the Mayor's Tuesday news conferences, the only time all week, as we

always remind you, that he takes reporters' questions on topics that the free press chooses,

...