Andrea Cabral: Herman Cain’s Death ‘Won’t Change a Thing’ About Trump’s Virus Messaging

Leading Conservatives Gather For Republican Leadership Conference In New Orleans — Herman Cain, former chairman and chief executive officer of Godfather's Pizza, speaks during the final day of the 2014 Republican Leadership Conference on May 31, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Leaders of the Republican Party spoke at the 2014 Republican Leadership Conference which hosted 1,500 delegates from across the country.

Aidan Connelly is a production assistant on Boston Public Radio. A graduate of Emerson College with a B.A in journalism, his work has appeared on WBUR, KCRW, and The Marketplace Morning Report.

July 30, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

News came Thursday that 2012 presidential candidate Herman Cain has died from COVID-19, after contracting the coronavirus in late June. He was 74.

The former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and co-chair of Black Voices for Trump was an avid supporter of the president, as well as his messaging that fears about COVID-19 are overblown.

Speaking Thursday on Boston Public Radio, former Suffolk County Sheriff Andrea Cabral said she expects Cain’s death “won’t change a thing about what Donald Trump says about the virus publicly."

"I don’t think people should harbor any illusions. He doesn’t care who dies," she added. "That’s kind of obvious by the fact that we have over 150,000 deaths in this country, and he’s still saying the things that he’s saying.”

“While Herman Cain’s death is certainly unfortunate, we should really be conscious of the fact that people are making choices in the face of facts and science, to pretend that this doesn’t exist," she said. "And we should be mindful of how dire those consequences are.”

Cabral is the former sheriff of Suffolk County, former secretary of public safety and CEO of Ascend.

Aidan Connelly is a production assistant on Boston Public Radio. A graduate of Emerson College with a B.A in journalism, his work has appeared on WBUR, KCRW, and The Marketplace Morning Report.