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Prices Fell in June for the First Time Since the Pandemic; Biden Campaign to Meet with Senate Democrats; Clooney Comments on Biden; Costco Hikes Membership Fee. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired July 11, 2024 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "Project 2025. I have not seen it and have no idea who is in charge of it. And unlike our very well received Republican platform had nothing to do with it."

John, but as we saw, dozens of people who were involved in his administration from every aspect of it. People who were involved in his campaign, people who were involved in this transition, people like Mark Meadows, his former chief of staff, Stephen Miller, one of his top advisers, all were involved in Project ((INAUDIBLE) much more complicated for him to distance himself from it than we previously thought.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Steve Contorno, good reporting on that. Thanks so much.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, just ahead, breaking news this morning, consumer prices doing something they haven't done since the early part of the pandemic in 2020, they fell. The latest reading on the fight against inflation is spelling good news for shoppers.

CNN's Paula Newton has more on this story.

I'm so happy to see you this morning, Paula.

There you are.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Sara, it is good news for all, I can tell you that. And it is actually, in fact, a deflationary numbers. Think about that. Things month over month are costing us less today than they were last month. This is something that so many people have been waiting for, not to mention the White House, to try and prove that their economic policies are working.

You know, this wasn't a dramatic kind of slip, but really a pivotal point. And why? When you look at the year over year, it is at 3 percent. That's much cooler than people were expecting, especially when you combine it with that month over month number.

I think about it, Sara, in 2022, as we were still trying to recover from the pandemic, inflation was over nine 9 percent in that year and people were really feeling it. This really lends itself to perhaps an interest rate cut in September. Some people, if you can believe it, Sara, are even banking there could be one this month that will really help people out with their interest rates in terms of mortgages or car loans, what have you. That will really make a difference to this economy.

The other thing, and, remember, the Federal Reserve, and the chair, Jay Powell, has two (INAUDIBLE) inflation down to its target, which is (INAUDIBLE) close to that yet, but we're getting there in terms of the trend, but also it does require it to keep unemployment low. Last month unemployment ticked up to 4.1 percent. That is actually a good read, Sara. It means that the labor market is more imbalanced and it should keep a lid on inflation for all.

Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, when you see those numbers, everyone sees, you know, unemployment's up, like, what's going on. But the inflation, inflation, inflation, if that comes down, people will feel a lot better, right, Paula?

NEWTON: Absolutely. And I -- we'll see what the markets were doing. They kind of popped. I will caution everyone, markets already, the S&P and the Nasdaq, already at record highs. The Dow could hit another record today. They were very exuberant when the report came up but futures kind of dipped after that. So, we'll see the kind of day ahead.

But all in all, good news here for the economy and for people who are really feeling it, whether you're paying for groceries, or, you know, house insurance, anything to do with any kind of a loan. This is good going forward.

And I think Jay Powell, you know, is now also looking at the weakness in the economy, right? And that may mean that he may not just cut interest rates in September, but perhaps December as well.

SIDNER: We will all be waiting to see. Paula Newton, it's so good to see you. Thank you.

All right, coming up, George Clooney has been one of President Joe Biden's biggest supporters and donors in Hollywood at least. He's just had a fundraiser a few weeks ago for Biden. Now the politically influential movie star says Democrats need a new nominee, not Joe Biden. What other big donors are doing and saying now.

Plus, it's an exclusive-ish club where you can still buy a hot dog and a soda for $1.50. But the membership fee, yes, it's going up. We'll talk about it coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:38:20]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A new read on the state of the race in a new ABC News poll showing Joe Biden, Donald Trump, they're still running evenly among voters nationally with no meaningful post-debate change in vote preferences. Yet, 67 percent of respondents said Biden should step aside. That includes 62 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaning voters, and 54 percent of self-proclaimed Biden voters in this poll.

Add this up. It's much more to consider as lawmakers on Capitol Hill are still trying to figure out what to do about Biden's candidacy and how they're going to respond. A team of top Biden campaign officials are headed to The Hill today to hold a special meeting with Senate Democrats to try and calm their nerves.

CNN's Lauren Fox is tracking all of this for us.

Lauren, what's happened in there today?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, a lot of Senate Democrats saying that more information from the campaign would certainly be welcomed, but it's not clear that this meeting today is going to quell the concerns overall. A lot of Democratic senators and Democratic House members are looking toward this press conference later today to see how Biden performs. They're also worried about the potential that Biden could drag them down their own races.

This national poll today, I'm sure, well buoy some of those concerns among members. But the other reality is that in states like Montana, Ohio, Arizona, it still remains to be seen if Biden's debate performance may have an effect on those down ballot races. So, I think that that is something that a lot of these senators are watching very closely.

Right now, Democrats are walking this very fine line. There are nine members of the House and Senate who have now come out now and said that Biden should no longer be at the top of the ticket in November, including Peter Welch, who is a Democratic senator, the very first one to come out and say so publicly.

[09:40:08]

But we should also remind people, there's a lot of members who are not exactly vouching the confidence for the president. You have people saying that they hope that Biden makes a decision soon despite the fact that Biden made a decision and made it clear in a letter to members on Monday that he is going to continue as the presidential nominee in this race.

So, a lot of members trying to create a bridge for Biden, trying to create an opportunity, room and space for a president that they respect, to reconsider.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, those two things have been really glaring this week, right? Biden saying I've made a decision, everyone get over it, and then the response was, Biden has a real decision to make, from his own party. Let's see what happens today.

Lauren, thank you so much.

Sara.

SIDNER: Thank you, Kate.

One of the newest cracks in the dam of support for President Biden, Hollywood heavyweights. Staunch Democratic ally George Clooney now calling on President Biden to leave the race, just a few weeks after co-hosting a fundraiser for the president that raised $30 million. The actor writes in a "New York Times" op-ed, "I love Joe Biden. But we need a new nominee."

"The Times" is also reporting that several Biden campaign aides tried to stop Clooney from publishing that op-ed.

Joining me now to discuss, Brian Stelter -- good morning -- special correspondent for "Vanity Fair" and a longtime friend.

BRIAN STELTER, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, "VANITY FAIR": Good morning.

So, first of all, you hear this and you see this op-ed from George Clooney, of all people, who just helped raise a bunch of money for the Biden campaign. Is this going to open the floodgates, you think, for other donors to come out, or at least to stop giving money to the Biden camp?

STELTER: Yes. And we've already seen that from some Hollywood types, some producers, some, you know, I don't want to call them b-listers, but compared to George Clooney, everybody is a b or c or d lister.

We have heard from some of those producer types, some other stars. But George Clooney, let's face it, he's one of the ten or 12 most famous men in the world. His words carry real weight. And he knew what he was doing writing this op-ed, right, speaking on behalf of many of his friends.

You know, remember in grade schools, Sara, when we all learned about icebergs and how only the top of the iceberg appears above the water and there's usually a lot more underneath the water? That's what I think we're experiencing right now on Capitol Hill, in Hollywood, in other Democratic enclaves, we're seeing some of the iceberg above the water when people like Clooney speak publicly, but there's a lot (INAUDIBLE) beneath the surface.

SIDNER: Yes, I think Rob Reiner came forward as well. I think I saw his Twitter saying, OK, it is now (INAUDIBLE). And he's -- he's a big name too.

STELTER: And Reiner -- and Reiner's really interesting, right, because he is -- he's not a young, spry guy. He's out there on Twitter saying Clooney's right, quote, "we need someone younger to fight back. Biden must step aside."

So, I do think we're seeing examples of what Clooney said being amplified by others, you know, in Hollywood circles. SIDNER: You know, when you look at this, the White House sort of -- or Biden's camp pushing back against Clooney, kind of trying to get him not to publish this, what are you hearing about that?

STELTER: Right, there was this effort include -- involving Jeffrey Katzenberg and others. Katzenberg, of course, is a Hollywood executive, a veteran. He's now the co-chair of the Biden campaign. And some people feel they were misled or even conned by people in the Biden camp. I think that's what this has a lot to do with. If you're Clooney and you hold this fundraiser -- I've talked to several people who were now at that fundraiser from several weeks ago, they all came away worried about Biden, noticing how frail he was on stage, concerned about his well-being. And you can understand why in the lead-up to the debate some of those staunch Democrats kept their voices quiet. They kept their voices down at that time because they wanted to see how he would perform at the debate.

But now, in the wake of the debate and the last two weeks, they feel confident to come forward. And I think at this point, Sara, this is not just about the debate (INAUDIBLE) or about "The New York Times" (INAUDIBLE) CNN reporting about all the other times when Biden has been -- had a very hard time living up to the standards of the job.

SIDNER: Let's listen to a little bit of sound of Jon Favreau, who sort of talked about this and talked about going to this fundraiser and what was said.

STELTER: Yes.

SIDNER: I think his wife had a comment. Let's listen a bit to what he said because it mirrors what you're talking about here.

STELTER: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON FAVREAU, FORMER OBAMA SPEECHWRITER: It was not surprising to any of us who were at the fundraiser. I was there. Clooney was exactly right. And every single person I talked to at the fundraiser thought the same thing, except for the, you know, people working for Joe Biden, or at least they didn't say that. But I remember my wife, Emily, turned to me after the fundraiser and said, what are we going to do?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: What are we going to do?

And I guess the question to you is, what do they do? You -- your -- you look at the media. You look at how messaging works. What does the Biden camp do when all of these things start coming down at him like an avalanche almost?

[09:45:07]

STELTER: Yes, it is an avalanche. We're talking about floodgates, icebergs, avalanches. These are all appropriate because a single press conference does not change this picture. A single press conference, frankly, and there's probably too much hype around this single press conference because Biden should be holding regular press conferences where the public can see him and answering questions on -- you know, from reporters on behalf of the public.

I was talking with Favreau a day before the debate, and I think people like him, Democrats who want to see Trump defeated, they were in a little bit of denial before the debate. And all that's been ripped off now. You can't unsee what's going on here. And that's fundamentally the problem for Biden. We see that in the new ABC poll that only 15 percent of people think he's appropriate of an age for this job.

The reality here, Sara, is that most Americans don't want Trump or Biden. They think both are too old. Your guest was saying that last hour. The American gerontocracy is something that people are sick and tired of. And that's not something Biden can change.

SIDNER: I'm just curious from your perspective, I think Nixon and one other president had very few press conferences. Biden has had even fewer than any other president.

STELTER: Yes.

SIDNER: Is that surprising to you? And do you think it is a bit too late -- I mean looking at this one press conference -- but a bit too late to try to fix that now?

STELTER: The short answer is yes, right? The slightly longer answer is that the White House has good reasons for what they do. They have a communication strategy. There are real professionals behind the scenes. You know, they deserve some respect.

But I think they also deserve to be scrutinized now about whether there was a cover up and whether they were covering up something about Biden by keeping him away from the press, by avoiding press conferences. Those are, at this point, pretty fair questions to ask. And I think they will be asked this afternoon.

SIDNER: Yes, certainly the Republicans have been talking about that for actually quite a long time. It will be interesting to see how it's being used on that front. But certainly Democrats now asking these same questions.

Brian Seltzer, thank you so much. Appreciate you coming on.

STELTER: Good to see you.

SIDNER: You're welcome back any time.

STELTER: Love NEWS CENTRAL.

SIDNER: John.

See, endorsed.

BERMAN: A-lister, Brian Stelter.

SIDNER: Endorsed.

BERMAN: All right, after one of the most embarrassing stretches for the U.S. men's soccer team, this morning the search is on for a new coach. Will I be available?

For the first time in years, Costco is raising the price of membership. So, what will happen to the $1.50 hot dog combo?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:51:41]

BERMAN: The heat waves searing the west has claimed at least 28 lives since July 1st. Most of those deaths are in California, where the heat has been breaking daily records. In Santa Clara County alone, 14 deaths are being investigated.

So the search is underway for a new U.S. men's soccer coach. Gregg Berhalter was fired after the team dumped out of the Copa America, which included a shocking loss to Panama, which I was there for. Shocked and disappointing. The U.S. now has its sights set on hiring a new coach, with an eye toward the 2026 World Cup.

So, Ellen DeGeneres is calling it a wrap. The comic and talk show host says she is done performing after her Netflix special, which is set to air at the end of the year. She announced it in the middle of a set in California. That's according to "The San Francisco Gate." Her talk show ended two years ago amid claims it was a toxic environment.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Can we go back for a second on the Copa America. Did you see the fight that broke out between Uruguay and Columbia?

BERMAN: Uruguay and Columbia. Yes, that was last night. Columbia won. I'm told there's video of it?

BOLDUAN: So, literally I just ad libed.

BERMAN: I can perform the fight.

BOLDUAN: Let's look at it.

BERMAN: They were fighting. That's what the video looks -- oh, there it is. There was a fight after this game. Yes, Columbia won there, which was big. Something of an upset according to some. They beat Uruguay.

But afterwards --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

BERMAN: Fisticuffs. BOLDUAN: Fisticuffs, stuff thrown. And apparently this was in the section where families sit and the Columbia players said that -- wait, do I have this right? One side said that the other side's fans were threatening their families, and that's how this all went down.

BERMAN: Not friendly.

BOLDUAN: Not friends. Not friends. Also -- yes, this is what -- this is what would happen if the Democratic and Republican conventions were held in the same city at the same time. Just bringing it full circle. Just kidding.

BERMAN: Or both NEWS CENTRALS were in the same room at the same time.

BOLDUAN: Oh, man, it's like, that is an anchorman waiting to happen, is if the NEWS CENTRALS came at each other.

BERMAN: I have that same (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: And John would be taking his shirt off and he looks just like that man.

BERMAN: Just like that. Yes.

BOLDUAN: OK, we -- I don't know why I keep going, but thank you.

OK, moving on.

Soon it is going to cost a little more money to shop at Costco. The retailer known for big bulk savings is raising membership fees for the first time in seven years. The change is set to take effect in September, and will affect millions of members. The one thing that will not change, no matter inflation, no matter the company's bottom line, the famous $1.50 hot dogs, safe for now.

CNN's Matt Egan has more.

Matt, what is going on with the Costco membership?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Kate, even Costco is raising membership fees. The gold star membership going up by $5 to $65. The premium executive membership going up by $10 to $130.

Now, these fee hikes, they take effect September 1. It is a big deal. I mean this is a brand that Americans care so much about. Costco has 52 million members. But look, they haven't raised membership fees since 2017. And, obviously, life is just so much more expensive than it was back then. And Costco, of course, is not alone. We've seen a lot of companies hike their fees, including rivals like Sams Club and Amazon Prime. We've also seen it for services like Netflix and Spotify. This was bound to happen at some point for Costco.

Now, the good news is that Costco is helping out their members a little bit.

[09:55:01] They are bumping up the cap on annual rewards for their executive members. It was $1,000 a year. It's going up to $1,250. And the other good news here is, of course, that $1.50 hot dogs/ soda combo, that is not changing. No price hike announced there. The CFO was asked about this a few months ago and he said it's safe. It's pretty incredible because they haven't changed prices on that hot dog/soda combo since 1985.

And think about how much more expensive life is than it was then. I mean back then you could get a dozen eggs for $0.78. Now it's around $3. A gallon of gas was just over $1. Now it's much closer to $4. You could even buy a house back then for under $100,000. Right now the only thing on that list, of course, that hasn't changed is that $1.50 hot dog/soda combo. It's amazing.

BOLDUAN: Or what goes into a hot dog?

BERMAN: I feel like they were sticking it to people in '85. If they were charging $1.50 for a hot dog combo in '85, those prices were like high. Were there like diamonds in those hot dogs or something?

BOLDUAN: Diamond-filled hot dogs.

BERMAN: Yes. Come on.

BOLDUAN: Apparently like on an earnings call way back when, one of the top executives is like no f-ing way. We will not raise prices on the hot dogs.

SIDNER: Do not raise prices.

But here's how you get your money back. Just go eat all the sample.

BERMAN: Yes, there's free food everywhere.

SIDNER: Just spend like four hours in there and just -- look at, Kate, she's like, girl, no.

BOLDUAN: That was me at Sam's Club growing up. I was like, it's time for lunch. Let's go.

SIDNER: See, that's -- just eat the samples. You'll be -- you can get $10 worth of samples, can't we?

BOLDUAN: Oh, that rice one. Yes, keep going.

SIDNER: All right, thank you so much for joining us. This is CNN NEW CENTRAL. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Jim Acosta is up next.

BOLDUAN: I can't remember. It was like Tyson's food (ph) --

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