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Lael Brainard is Interviewed about Inflation; Labor Day Air Travel Caps Summer; Irene Kim is Interviewed about Swifties for Kamala. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 30, 2024 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:32:34]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.

And all new this morning, inflation is holding steady according to the latest numbers from the Federal Reserve's go-to inflation gauge, 2.5 percent in July. That was better than expected. But what does that mean for the prices we all pay for things? What does it mean for interest rates?

Let me bring in Lael Brainard. She is the director of the National Economic Council.

Director Brainard, good to have you. Thanks for being with us today.

LAEL BRAINARD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Thanks for having me on.

SOLOMON: So, I imagine this is the type of report you wanted to see. What's your reaction to what we learned about an hour ago?

BRAINARD: Yes. This is exactly the kind of report that gives us confidence that inflation is sustainably coming back down to normal levels. We've seen a string of monthly reports now. Inflation at 2.5 percent. That suggests the economy can continue expanding, the employment can continue expanding with low inflation. And that is good news.

But the work on lowering costs needs to continue. Many middle class families are still facing high prices, and that is the focus of Vice President Harris, President Biden lowering costs. They're doing that on prescription drugs. A real focus on housing affordability. A plan to build 3 million houses. And, of course, we are actually seeing relief at the pump. So, $3.35 national average, that's a reduction of about $0.50 since last Labor Day, and the lowest Labor Day gas prices we've seen in three years.

SOLOMON: Yes, we did talk about those lower gas prices a little bit earlier.

But I want to focus on something you just talked about there, shelter inflation. Obviously, I don't have to tell you, a pain point for a lot of people. The plans that have been rolled out will obviously take time. Talk to us a little bit about how we get to a better place with shelter costs when people are suffering and dealing with that right now.

BRAINARD: You're exactly right. Affordability of housing is a major pain point for so many American households. Partly - it's good to see mortgage rates now coming down into the low 6 percent range. That's going to unlock the housing market, which is really important. But rental costs are still too high. The president, the vice president want to move forward on a plan to build 3 million more affordable houses. That's critically important. But also they're already making more federal land available for more household - housing construction.

[09:35:07]

We're already giving grants to states to do more innovative things in terms of zoning and other ways to unlock that housing market. But that's going to be a continued top priority for the vice president and, of course, the president.

SOLOMON: Yes. Director, I know you can't speak to specific campaign activities, but I did want to give you a chance to respond to something Senator J.D. Vance actually just said on our air to my colleague John Berman.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I actually think what Donald Trump is trying to do is identify some common ground so that we can focus on the big national questions like, why can't Americans afford groceries and housing?

American families can't afford groceries or health care. Young families can afford to buy a home to raise their families in. Those are the real crises that we should focus on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Now, Director, we did just talk about housing affordability there, but I wanted to give you an opportunity to respond to that.

BRAINARD: Yes. So, completely agree that those are the issues that the president, the vice president want to focus on, on behalf of the American middle class families that are being squeezed.

Now, if you look at the tariff proposal that some Republicans have put on the table, interestingly, those would amount to a national sales tax of about 4,000 per middle class family. A lot of that would raise food prices. So, we have made incredible progress already on bringing down prescription drug prices, $35 insulin, down hundreds of dollars per month for American families, capping ten prices in Medicare, or at least negotiating those prices for the first time, capping out of pocket costs on drugs for seniors. You know, Republicans - every single Republican voted against the bill

to get that done, to bring down health care costs. The president and the vice president understand how important health care costs are and they want to make those kinds of lower drug prices and caps on out-of- pocket costs available to all Americans. And that's what they're going to continue working to do.

SOLOMON: OK. Dr. Lael Brainard, we appreciate -- Director Lael Brainard, thank you. We appreciate the time. Thank you.

BRAINARD: Thank you.

SOLOMON: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, happening now, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart at the Pentagon. Ukrainian officials in Washington are there to meet with administration officials from the Biden administration to present them with a list of targets inside Russia in an attempt to push the U.S. to lift restrictions on the use of American weapons against the Russians.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again called for allowing Ukraine to carry out strikes deeper inside Russia, arguing it would end the war in Ukraine sooner.

Good news for anyone hitting the road this Labor Day weekend, lower prices at the gas pump.

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[09:42:48]

SOLOMON: All right, we have some breaking news into CNN. A devastating loss for the hockey community. Columbus Blue Jackets all-star Johnny Gaudreau has died, along with his brother. Gaudreau was 31-years-old. New Jersey State Police say that they were both struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver while riding their bikes. That's according to CNN affiliates WPBI and KYW. Known to fans as "Johnny Hockey," Gaudreau was a seven-time NHL all-star and Hoagie Baker Award winner at Boston College. The Blue Jackets sharing a statement this morning, saying, quote, "the Columbus Blue Jackets are shocked and devastated by this unimaginable tragedy. Johnny was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend. We will miss him terribly and do everything that we can to support his family and each other through this tragedy."

John.

BERMAN: Oh, that really is just so sad.

All right, shifting gears here. The official end of summer is here. TSA expects today to be the busiest day for air travel. United Airlines expects its busiest Labor Day weekend on record with more than half a million fliers for today on their airline alone. Drivers will also see gas prices at a three-year low for the holiday weekend.

CNN's Rafael Romo is at the world's busiest airport in Atlanta.

Actually, it looks OK behind you, Rafael.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not bad. Let me tell you, John. Good morning to you.

And it has been a good morning here because, yes, we've seen wave after wave of passengers getting here, but it seems like as soon as they get here, they get processed because we don't see the long lines that sometimes you see here at the world's busiest airport. Yes, Atlanta still retains the title.

And just a moment ago, and you can probably hear her in the background, they brought an a violin player, lifting up people's spirits so that they're now in a better mood that they would have been otherwise.

And today is going to be the peak air travel day with TSA processing 2.86 million people here. And if you add up all the people traveling between yesterday and next Wednesday, September the 4th, we're up to 17 million people.

[09:45:05]

So that gives you an idea about how busy airports around the nation are going to be.

Earlier we had an opportunity to talk to some passengers who shared their experiences about getting here at the airport. And this is what they have to say.

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NORA DONOVAN, FLYING THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND: There's a lot of holiday travel happening. People want to make the most of the holiday break. So, just be patient with people.

JILL WILD, FLYING TO BOISE, IDAHO: To get - get a hiccup, but that's OK. Delta's done an amazing job and we're going to still get to our destination in time.

ROMO: Can you share what the hiccup was?

WILD: Oh, our flight got canceled due to weather. So, we just had to - we're routing. So - but - but we're not upset or anything. We're still going to get there for my grandma's 95th birthday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And, John, a lot of people are going to be on the road as well. And you may wonder why. Well, it's because gas prices our considerably lower this year. Just to give you an idea, the average national price according to AAA today is $3.35. That compares to $3.37 last week and $3.50 last month. If we go to last year, it was $3.81. So, that gives people an incentive to get out there, go visit people, whatever they want. John.

BERMAN: And violin makes everything better.

Rafael Romo, at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta. Rafael, thank you very much.

So, it is their voting era. The coalition of Taylor Swift superfan rallying behind Vice President Harris. They are trying to turn their numbers into voting power.

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[09:51:10]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAYLOR SWIFT, MUSICIAN (singing): Best believe I'm still bejeweled. When I walk in the room, I can still make the whole place shimmer. And when I meet the band, they ask, "do you have a man?" I could stay, "I don't remember."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Always nice to have a little Taylor Swift on a Friday. Taylor Swift may not have endorsed a candidate yet in the 2024 election, but apparently many of her fans already have. Swifties for Kamala. That's a coalition of Taylor Swift fans that have already fund raised over $100,000 for the Harris-Walz ticket. Now, the group has no official affiliation with Taylor Swift, but they have already drawn in some pretty big names, hosting Senator Elizabeth Warren and Carole King on a fundraising Zoom call.

Here with us now is the co-founder of Swifties for Kamala, Irene Kim.

Irene, good to have you. Thank you.

IRENE KIM, CO-FOUNDER, SWIFTIES FOR KAMALA; Hi. Thanks for having me.

SOLOMON: So this is not necessarily affiliated with Taylor Swift. So, how did this idea even come about?

KIM: Yes, we are absolutely not affiliated with Taylor Swift. It all started with my co-founder Emerald Madrona literally just tweeted the night Biden stepped down and said he felt like Swifties should do somethings for Kamala Harris. I agreed. Lots of other Swifties agreed. And the next thing you know we had a Twitter group chat, quickly moves over to Discord, and now we kind of have a fully functioning volunteer organization.

BERMAN: I was in Chicago, was it just last week, for the - for the Democratic Convention. and there was this massive sort of rumors swirling Thursday night, one that there was Beyonce, two, that it was Taylor Swift. One, Beyonce with Taylor Swift. She wasn't there. How important is it for you, self-described Swifties, that Taylor Swift actively endorses in this campaign? KIM: I mean she's previously endorsed Kamala Harris during the last

election when she was running as VP. So, we have no doubt she will endorse her when the time is right.

I think we've seen with the Vienna statement recently, Taylor will speak when the time is right for her. And there's a lot of moving pieces we might not know about. So, to us it's more important to just immobilize our community because we've seen firsthand how quickly we can rally around each other and get support together.

SOLOMON: Help us understand the common denominators between why you guys are endorsing Kamala Harris and why you're supporting Kamala Harris and being a Taylor Swift fan. What are the common denominators there?

KIM: I mean, I think it just comes down to being people who care. So, Swifties care a lot. And a lot of us are, you know, across very diverse demographics. And those are the very demographics that Kamala Harris and her campaign are looking to defend. And when they're in office, hopefully those policies will protect us a lot more.

And so that's kind of what's brought us together. Like, as Swifties, we share a lot of values. And so it kind of translate over pretty naturally that we would care about this because it's the same way that we try to make merch sales more accessible, whether it's something for like record store day and people will rally around that to organize around people who might not have access. So, with that same thinking, we're working on making sure that all of our friends and family are protected.

BERMAN: So, how many and how powerful are you?

KIM: Well, we just hit over 3,200 members in our discord. That's just who's been able to join. Our kickoff call had over 34,000 attendees, which is really exciting for us. And as of this morning, we've raised over $145,000 for the campaign. So, very exciting.

BERMAN: I guess I mean Swift - even beyond the organization, like Swifties in general, how powerful do you think you are?

KIM: I think pretty powerful. I've seen it firsthand. Yes, exactly.

SOLOMON: The power of Swifties.

KIM: I think we've seen firsthand the power our community has. Like whether it's through organizing for like Swifties for Palestine, or there's other organizing groups that have always rallied around GoFundMes when tragedy strikes our community. Like we have the very traditional $13 donation everyone does. We've seen the impact we can have. And so, I think we are a very powerful coalition.

SOLOMON: And then just really quickly, speaking of impact, are you focusing your efforts on specific states, battleground states? How are you focusing your attention?

KIM: Yes. I mean we are kind of starting with what makes sense. So, right now we're prioritizing voter registration efforts before those deadlines pass.

[09:55:00]

And we are looking to tackle swing-states specifically because we know the 2020 election came down to just around 40,000, votes across three swing states. And as of now we've had over 41,000 voter registration checks just through our partnership with Fan Out (ph), which is doing the Eras Tour tickets giveaway. So, you get an entry every time you check your voter registration, make of voting plan and then anyone else you also register.

SOLOMON: Well, Irene Kim, thank you for being here and thank you for giving us a reason to play a little bit of Taylor Swift on a Friday. Thank you.

KIM: Any time.

BERMAN: Thank you.

And thank you for being here the last couple of days.

SOLOMON: Yes, it's good to be here, John.

BERMAN: It's been great to have you here.

This has been CNN NEW CENTRAL. Have a great holiday weekend. Make good choices.

CNN NEWSROOM is up next.

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