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Economy Adds 261,000 Jobs In October, Unemployment Rises To 3.7 Percent; Trump Aides Eye Third Week Of November For 2024 Announcement; Kyrie Irving Apologizes For Antisemitic Post After Nets Suspend Him. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired November 04, 2022 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[11:00:16]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. At This Hour, the focus is on the economy and politics. A final gut check on the economy before the midterms, the final gut check before the midterms just came in. And a new gut check now for Republicans could come the week after the election as Donald Trump could announce then that he is running for president again.

First, let's get to the economic news. U.S. employers added 261,000 jobs in October. That is more than many economists expected. The report is also showing that the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.7 percent. And most importantly, this is the last read on the economy that voters will get before votes start being counted on Tuesday. What the numbers mean for the midterms, we're going to get to in a moment.

We're also staring down the final weekend of the midterms, of course, and major political players are hitting the trail alongside all of the candidates including the three last presidents tomorrow, President Biden, former President Obama, and former President Trump will all be in one place, all in Pennsylvania for campaign events, all trying to push their candidates across the finish line in one of the cycles tightest races.

And another big name is jumping into that Senate race today too. Oprah now endorsing Democratic candidate John Fetterman, which is most noteworthy because as you will likely remember Oprah Winfrey gave Fetterman's opponent, Mehmet Oz, gave him his first start in television. Let's get to it all starting with Rahel Solomon on the jobs report out this morning. Rahel, what do you see here?

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So Kate, this was a strong report for sure, but I think still falls within the Goldilocks range, which is job creation that's not too strong, but not too cool either. So 261,000 jobs added in the month of October, as you pointed out, Kate, so that was hotter than economists were expecting, but it is cooler than the 315,000 we saw in the month of September, the unemployment rate that ticked up from that 50 year low of 3.5 percent to 3.7 percent.

Kate, when we looked in the report at where we're seeing the most job creation, take a look healthcare that added about 53,000 jobs, also manufacturing, 32,000 jobs. Now, what does this mean about the state of the economy? Well, look at job creation, Kate, over the last year, and you can absolutely see that a slowing is starting to take place. Now in the last hour, we talked to Nela Richardson, she is the chief economist at ADP. That's a payroll provider. And she told our colleague Julia Chatterley that this is the type of jobs report that you don't get when you're on the brink of a recession. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NELA RICHARDSON, ADP CHIEF ECONOMIST: These are not regaining lost jobs. This is actually producing new jobs. And for any economy, especially one that's supposed to be on the brink of a recession, this is a really strong and robust jobs report.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: So Kate, lots of ways to read this, right? How do you read this if you're the Fed? How do you read this if you're the White House? But how do you read this if you're at home thinking so is this a good report or a bad report? Well, I asked Guy Berger, who's one of the top economists at LinkedIn, what advice he has for people at home and he says, look, it's a strong labor market, but not as strong as it was six months ago, and probably stronger than it will be six months from now. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes, it's still like we've been seeing all in all, standby to standby to see when it's going to start getting better or how much worse it gets. It's good to see you Rahel, I really appreciate it.

All right, so as I mentioned, we aren't even past the midterms, of course, but there is news on the 2024 presidential race to now consider. Sources telling CNN that aides to former President Donald Trump are looking at the week of November 14th for him to announce his next run for the White House. Kristen Holmes is tracking this. She joins us at this hour. Kristen, Trump has been teasing this a run, another run for quite some time, of course, but now a possible save the days.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Kate. I mean, even though he is out there for the next several days campaigning for his Republican candidates and other Republicans, he is very much setting the stage for 2024. And as you said, he has long been teasing another run. We reported last week that he was specifically eyeing that two week period after the midterms and before Thanksgiving. And now it's looking like it's zoned in on one week in particular.

Again, nothing is set in stone, but that week of November 14th is one that has been floated and particularly an announcement on that Monday. Again, I just want to note and all the aides that we have talked to say that this is ultimately up to Trump and anything can change at any time, but this is the most concrete date that we have actually seen when it comes to an announcement.

Now I also want to note that there's a reason for this timing. One is that his aides believe that there's going to be a red wave, that many of his endorsed candidates are going to win. Trump wants to ride that wave to benefit from those wins. The other thing is that the weekend after the midterms is his youngest daughter Tiffany's wedding, so this would come after that but still give him the ability to capitalize on those wins.

[11:05:07]

Now, the other thing to point out here, as we know, is that this is coming as the Department of Justice is ramping up its investigations into the former president, CNN exclusively reporting that Department of Justice officials were actually discussing before we learned of this date, whether or not there was a need for a special master if he were to announce his candidacy. Kate?

BOLDUAN: So much involved in the day, I guess. It's good to see you. Thank you, Kristen. I really appreciate it.

So while Trump may have moved on to 2024, most Republicans are still focused on the current election at hand. Arizona is one state where both the Senate and governor's races are really tightening up in the final days. So let's focus in there CNN's Kyung Lah has this report.

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BLAKE MASTERS (R-AZ), SENATE CANDIDATE: Thank you for being the tip of the spear. Let's go manufacture this red wave.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Republican resurgence pledges Senate nominee Blake Masters in the final stretch closing with this message.

MASTERS: They've made life in America life in Arizona, more dangerous, less affordable.

LAH (voice-over): That resonates with Evelyn Tinsley, small business owner, mom of four.

EVELYN TINSLEY, REPUBLICAN VOTER: A lot of things have changed since Biden has gone into office. Food has definitely gone up. It's crazy, especially with how many people we have.

LAH (voice-over): What Tinsley does not worry about is Donald Trump.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Blake Masters --

LAH (voice-over): Urging Masters to lie about the election, like Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake.

TRUMP: Look at Kari. Kari is winning with very little money. And if they say, how is your family, she says the election was rigged and stolen. You'll lose if you go soft. You're going to lose that base.

MASTERS: I'm not going soft.

LAH (on camera): What do you say to moderates who are concerned about the economy? But they're also concerned about what you're saying about the 2020 election, the election denials?

MASTERS: I don't think they're concerned about what I say about 2020. I think the most important things by far right now to voters are inflation from the border.

LAH (voice-over): Democratic Senator Mark Kelly will test that belief with a message of his own. Labeling Masters as extreme on abortion, Social Security, and democracy.

SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): Blake Masters has some beliefs that are just dangerous for Arizonans. Somebody who thinks they know better than everyone about everything, letting them make decisions for you is dangerous.

KEITH GREENBERG, REPUBLICAN NOW VOTING DEMOCRAT: I am a registered Republican.

LAH (voice-over): Election deniers at the top of the Republican ticket is why Keith Greenberg is at the Democrats rally.

GREENBERG: Republicans have some momentum. But I think Arizonans are smart enough to know how to vote properly and protect democracy.

LAH (voice-over): The husband of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, Kelly is leaning into his experience as an astronaut and his service as a Navy combat veteran.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He is actually a Top Gun.

LAH (voice-over): Propelled in these last hours by a Democratic powerhouse.

OBAMA: And if you've got election denier serving as your governor, as your senator, as your secretary of state, as your attorney general, then democracy as we know it may not survive in Arizona. That's not an exaggeration. That is the fact.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Arizona one of the very key states we're watching this cycle. Kyung, thank you so much for that look.

Joining me right now, CNN senior political correspondent, host of Inside Politics Sunday, Abby Phillip, and former advisor to Senator Mitch McConnell, Scott Jennings, it's great to see you guys. So Abby, let's start with what Kristen Holmes was telling us about this possible, possible, possible may be eyeing date for Trump to announce his presidential run the week after the election. He's going to be out in Pennsylvania this weekend campaigning. I'm wondering what impact this news, this possible news of 2024 has on 2022. What do you think?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think that for the races that are going to be largely decided next week, the dye has been cast. I think the voters are taking into consideration Trump's endorsements, his role in the Republican Party. They have to decide whether that matters to them. And in some of these races, it may matter in the Republicans favor. And in other races, it'll be quite the opposite. I do think, though, where it will matter a lot is in a crucial state, which is in the state of Georgia.

If there is a run off in the state of Georgia and Donald Trump is announcing a presidential run smack dab in the middle of that, I think that absolutely will have a role in that race. And it's very unpredictable, I think, what will happen after that.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Scott, what do you think about this, welcome news?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it's expected news. I agree with Abby. I don't think it's going to have much impact on the midterms, because most Republicans have anticipated he's going to run. I think most Americans think he's going to run again. So this Georgia run off probability though, which is a distinct possibility in that race, that is a really astute point, because it'll come in just a month. And if he's out there in the middle of it the last time he was in the middle of an election in Georgia, Republicans lost a Senate race, so that will definitely be on the mind of Republican strategist.

[11:10:09]

One other issue on this front, once he -- and this has also happened this year, you know, once he gets out there and starts raising money, you know, he's the guy that low dollar donors in the Republican Party want to give too, and so of his campaign has ramped up, he's going to be raising money for himself, that really is a bit of a resource sponge for everybody else who, like Herschel Walker, who might have to raise more money to compete in the runoff.

BOLDUAN: That's an excellent point, kind of like quickly sucking the energy out of the room and kind of a fundraising sense. It's a great point. So Abby, as we do get into this final week of campaigning, there are so many tight races, votes to be counted -- so many votes have already been cast, votes to be counted on Tuesday. One thing I know that you have been tracking is Democratic outreach to black and Latino voters in these key states.

I was looking this morning at the most recent CNN poll and the breakdown that I saw with Latino voter preference is 75, if I could read we will get it right, 65 percent preferring Democrats, and 33 percent preferring Republicans, but Democrats four years ago had a much larger share of the Latino vote. What are you finding here? What do you see?

PHILLIP: This is going to be, I think, a really important dynamic in a lot of the very close Senate races in particular, and perhaps even more on the House side as well, in individual districts where black and Latino voters could be decisive I think in this midterm election cycle. You know, in a state like Georgia, for example, where black voters are really the linchpin of the Democratic Party, they have to maximize their advantage over Republicans in order to pull out a win in that battleground state. Same thing is true in Arizona and Nevada. I think the reason both Arizona and Nevada are competitive, actually, for both parties is because of Latino voters, and how they are shifting their voter preferences in some ways. The economy here is so important, especially with Latino voters where you're seeing this issue rising above other things in terms of importance, and Democrats have to figure out how to speak to that effectively. It might be too late in some cases, because votes are already being cast. But we have a week until Election Day. I think that's going to be a crucial issue.

BOLDUAN: That's a great point. And Scott, crime another top issue for every community of course, it's also an issue that Republicans have leaned very hard into this cycle. Well, you and I've talked about this, blaming Democrats for any increases in crime. One race where this is a central issue or has become a central issue is in New York Democratic. Governor Kathy Hochul facing a challenge, a real challenge now from Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin, I want to play how Hochul address this issue today on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): Nationwide, crime has been a problem, our better -- our numbers are better in New York City. Violent crime is up, but we look at murders and shootings, and they're down about 3 percent. But that's not going to give anyone any comfort. It says we still have a problem. I understand that. But let's talk about real answers and not just give everybody all these platitudes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: What you say and Scott is Republicans are not being truthful and not offering solutions on this issue. Do you think Republicans need to be offering more here?

JENNINGS: Well, I mean, when you get in trouble in politics is trying to say things that are in opposition to people's lived experience. And I'm in New York and talk to enough New Yorkers to know that they don't feel safe, and you pick up the newspaper every day, and it feels like, you know, there was a real safety issue, and she's in charge. She's the governor right now. And when things aren't going well, whether it's economy, crime, emigrate, whatever it is, you think is not going well, you tend to hold accountable to people who are currently in office, it's the sole reason the New York governor's race is close. It's the sole reason Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris are here. It's the sole reason the Democratic Party is spending millions because people in New York are fed up. So I'm not sure she's got a very strong argument on that. You can go with statistics or you can go with your gut. That's where Zeldin has been. And I think that's why he's rising.

BOLDUAN: And Abby this gets to something that I think maybe this gets -- I'm sorry to interrupt, the cold hard truth of politics, of our politics today, which is not necessarily not necessarily statistical reality, but rather perception that really motivates how people vote.

PHILLIP: Yes, no, we're totally on the same page. Like I think that it is really important for politicians to acknowledge people's actual reality. You can slice and dice the numbers however you want. And while it is true, that crime is high, not just in Democrat run cities or states, but also in red parts of the country, too. You cannot ignore that people feel like things are maybe worse for them today than it was before.

And one other point about crime and public safety, it is important, especially for Democrats to not ignore that that is an issue that often disproportionately affects their voters, voters of color. And to ignore that, I think is to not speak to something that is in the back of people's minds that they're dealing with every time they walk out of their doors.

BOLDUAN: It's a great point. Guys, it's great to see you. Thank you so much for coming on.

[11:15:00]

JENNINGS: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: So reminder to all of you, you can join CNN for our special election night coverage starting Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, I'll be in the critical state the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, bringing you all of the action from there.

Ahead for us, Kyrie Irving is now apologizing. But that is only after he was suspended for his non-apology over pushing an antisemitic film.

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KYRIE IRVING, GUARD, BROOKLYN NETS: I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That is next.

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BOLDUAN: Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is now apologizing for pushing an antisemitic film saying that he is now deeply sorry to the Jewish people. His new statement coming out only after the Nets hit him with a five game suspension without pay. Brynn Gingras is following all this work. she joins me now. Brynn, it was a debacle of a press conference that seems finally got us here.

[11:20:14]

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and the question now, Kate, is this too little too late, not just the apology from Kyrie Irving but also from the NBA also the Nets organization themselves. It seemed like this had all been figured out, right? There was this agreement that Kyrie Irving and the Nets were going to give the ADL, Anti-Defamation League half a million dollars each. But then as you just pointed out, Kate, Kyrie Irving doubled down on what he did and said this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IRVING: I didn't mean to cause any harm. I'm not the one that made the documentary. I'll take my full responsibility, again I'll repeat it, for posting something on my Instagram or Twitter and may have had some unfortunate falsehoods in it, but I am also a human being that's 30 years old, and I've been growing up in a country that's told me that I wasn't worth anything and I came from a slave class.

I'm not here to compare anyone's atrocities or tragic events that their families have dealt with generations of time. I'm just here to continue to expose things that our world continues to put in darkness. I'm a light. I'm a beacon of light.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: So that was sort of his attempt to an apology that really was seemed to be the tipping point for the Nets because it was soon after those comments were made by Kyrie that they said that they were going to suspend him for at least five games that they basically said he was unfit to be a part of the organization and that he had chances to apologize. And yet he continued to fail to do so.

At the same time, Kate, we know that the ADL said listen, they can't in good consciousness, except that $500,000 from both the Nets and Kyrie Irving. And then finally, just before midnight last night, Kyrie Irving did send out a statement that included an apology. I want to read part of it to you, it said, to all Jewish families and communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize. I had no intentions to disrespect any Jewish cultural history regarding the Holocaust, or perpetuate any hate.

Now, again, the big question here is, did it go far enough? He says he first reacted to being called sort of antisemitic that he does have some learning to do. But again, there's a lot of criticism still out there that this should have come sooner, not only just by him, but also the NBA and the Nets organization, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And as Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL said yesterday, actions speak louder than words. Let's see what happens going forward. It's good to see you, Brynn, thank you. So this is just in, multiple law enforcement sources tell CNN that a man has been identified now and interviewed in connection with a broad threat to synagogues in New Jersey. The individuals allegedly told authorities he does not like Jewish people and was very angry.

However, he has indicated he was not going to do anything harmful. That's what he's telling investigators. This comes after the FBI posted a startling warning yesterday, urging synagogues throughout the state to quote take all security precautions to protect their communities and facilities, following an online posting with antisemitic comments and a forum that's frequented by extremists.

Joining me right now is rabbit Rabbi David Levy. He's the regional director of the American Jewish Committee's New Jersey Office. Rabbi, thank you for being here, especially now that we're just learning new detail regarding this threat and this warning from the FBI. What more are you hearing about this person that's been identified as being behind the threats?

RABBI DAVID LEVY, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, AJC NEW JERSEY: Well, thank you, Kate. It's good to be with you. We, I was on a call this morning along with other Jewish leaders with the governor of the FBI, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Protection. And we were told that this individual had been identified. And according to the FBI, the quote I'll give you is, they said the threat has been mitigated. And we are deeply grateful to law enforcement for acting so quickly, and really taking the security of the Jewish community to heart.

We don't have any information beyond that about the individual other than the FBI did tell us that they are continuing to investigate and to make sure that things are confined just to this individual.

BOLDUAN: You know, I saw that you had said before, of course, we had learned the detail this individual, we heard that you said that for about the alert coming from the FBI when it came out yesterday that it was somewhat rare and what you saw. What was unusual about it to you? What grabbed your attention?

LEVY: Well, what was rare and unusual, and I'll tell you, I've spent 30 plus years as a congregational rabbi, and in my years working with congregations, we had had security alerts that came through various security agencies or would come from local police or even during 9/11, I had a direct call from the FBI but never something as public as this. Not a mass public identification of a threat put out over social media. And that's what made it rare and perhaps even more deeply disturbing than previous threat assessments that have been shared with us.

[11:25:26]

I will tell you that during the call, the FBI did say to us that they took this unusual measure out of an abundance of caution that they had this threat. And they knew that at the time, synagogues were in session, Jewish schools were in session, and that it was important to get the message out quickly, as widely as possible. And, again, I'm truly grateful for the way that they reacted to this threat.

BOLDUAN: And it also seems to reflect, Rabbi, just the heightened environment that we live in right now, a very clear moment of heightened concern around antisemitism, antisemitic violence and harassment are on the rise. We've covered a lot here on the show. And also the very recent examples of celebrities pushing antisemitic views, celebrities with big followings, Kyrie Irving, I was just talking to Brynn Gingras, is now suspended over his behavior. On that, I want to play for you what happened when Irving was asked directly if he held antisemitic beliefs, what really ended up leading to his suspension that we're now talking about, here's his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IRVING: I respect all walks of life and embrace all walks of life. That's where I sit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think what people want to hear, though, is just a yes or no on that question, yes or no.

IRVING: I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: What was your reaction to hearing that Rabbi?

LEVY: It was sadness more than anything else that he couldn't bring himself to apologize for something as toxic and awful as antisemitism is Holocaust denial, the things that he had trafficked in on his Instagram, then he doubled down, if you will. And that it took the Nets suspending him for him to put out an apology on Instagram. And we obviously have to question how sincere that apology is at this point, time will tell.

We have a tradition in Judaism that repentance comes not simply through words, not simply through offering an apology, but through the actions that follow that in order to truly engage in repentance. One has to do something to fix the damage that they've already done. And I think Mr. Irving has a lot of work to do.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Walking the walk, for walking the walk from this day forward, let us see.

LEVY: Most definitely.

BOLDUAN: Rabbi, thank you for your time. Thank you so much.

LEVY: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: So this morning, Paul Pelosi is waking up at home for the first time since being attacked one week ago. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement after her husband's release from a San Francisco hospital saying that he is progressing the way she puts it on a long recovery process and that he is surrounded by his family who request privacy.

The 82-year-old had to undergo surgery to repair a skull fracture and injuries to his hand and arm. And the man accused of attacking Pelosi is now as we've been reporting facing a litany of charges including assault, attempted murder, and attempted kidnapping.

Also happening today, five first responders in Colorado will be arraigned for the death of Elijah McClain. McClain you will remember, he died in August of 2019 just three days after he was stopped by Aurora police. He was walking home from a convenience store when he was confronted by three police officers responding to a call about a person described as quote unquote, sketchy. The three officers and two paramedics, they are now facing charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide as well as additional charges of assault.

When McClain was stopped, he was then put in a chokehold. He was injected with ketamine in part of that struggle and McClain had a heart attack on the way to the hospital was declared dead three days later. The three officers and two paramedics, they are facing these charges. Now in 2021, his family settled a civil lawsuit with the city of Aurora for $15 million. We'll continue to cover the developments on this.

[11:29:32]

So just one week into his tenure as Twitter CEO, Elon Musk is slashing his workforce with massive layoffs starting today. Why one columnist is writing under the headline, world's richest man decides to set $44 billion on fire.

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