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Inflation Cooled Even Further Last Month, More Rate Cuts Likely; Multiple Legal Battles Over Ballots, Voting In Pennsylvania; Democrats In Striking Distance Of Taking Down Ted Cruz; CDC: Triplets Becoming Less Common In The U.S. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired October 31, 2024 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS & POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: But a lot of consumers are still experiencing sticker shock every time they go to the store.

And I think it's just going to take time. It's going to take time for people to get used to those numbers. Just as we've gotten used to the price growth over the past few decades. We get acclimated to it.

That'll take time. And as long as we see wages continue to outpace inflation, I think that will help as well.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Catherine, there's this "Wall Street Journal" column out and it has the headline, "The Next President Inherits a Remarkable Economy."

It argues that the win will at the back of the next president. I forgot what the exact saying is, but it's something like success has a million moms, or something like that, where everyone wants to take credit for success.

Which - what would you say is most responsible for allowing the economy to achieve a soft landing? Is it Biden-era policies? Is it just that the American economy is just somehow exceptional? Is it Trump-era policies? What would you attribute it to?

RAMPELL: I'm sure economists will be fighting over this for many years to come. I would say I think there are a few things that are probably contributing to the -- the better-than-expected outcome.

You know, the fact that we haven't so far had a recession. Looks like we're going to have a soft landing and all of that, all that good stuff, assuming it materializes.

I think it's partly the Federal Reserve, which has been better than a lot of people give it credit for in cooling inflation, arranging interest rates just enough to get demand a little bit cooler, to get price growth a little bit slower without out-right killing the U.S. economy.

I think actually the increase in immigration, while it has been very divisive in this election cycle, has probably been quite helpful in terms of keeping the economy growing.

You know, a lot of those immigrants are coming here are disproportionately, many of them, are working age and want to work. So they're filling a lot of those jobs of that work experience and those shortages. That's probably also helping supply chains.

So there are a number of things happening here. And the fact that, like, we have been very insulated from a lot of the other shocks that have affected the rest of the world.

So part of the reason why Greg Ef (ph), at "The Journal" and others have been calling attention to the great economic success that we've had in the United States is that, in contrast to these other countries, we're doing quite well.

But remember, countries in Europe have been much more exposed to Russia's war in Ukraine and the fallout in energy markets from that.

So to some extent, it's about being able to dodge some of the - the economic stresses that countries are experiencing. And to some extent, it's the luck, to some extent.

BRIANNE KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes.

RAMPELL: So to some extent, there's a lot going on there.

KEILAR: Unless your brother is like in Germany, though, you don't have that reference point, right? So that's not always how Americans are going to feel it.

I do want to ask you, because you write something interesting, Catherine, in "The Washington Post."

You say that voters who, quote, "prioritize their narrow financial interests over democracy, Trump is still the wrong choice this election."

You're basing this on the date that you're seeing for the economies that have been created under these administrations. What's your argument here?

RAMPELL: Mu argument is essentially that, while presidents have relatively little control over the economy, you know, they get too much credit when things are good, too much blame when things are bad, they can affect things on the margins.

And the next president's agenda will make a difference. If you look at what Donald Trump's economic agenda, it's a number of things that would likely worsen inflation and potentially crash the economy.

So I'm referring to things like that global kind of 20 percent universal tariff, which will raise prices for consumers, not to mention the higher tariffs for Chinese goods.

As well as his promise to deport 10 million to 20 million people, many of whom work harvesting crops, building homes, processing meat, a lot of jobs that are difficult jobs, hard to fill. Americans don't want to occupy them.

And if you suddenly withdraw that workforce from agriculture, for example, that is likely to lead to higher prices for produce.

And then, finally, his intension to politicize the Federal Reserve. So the Reserve is like a wonky thing. I know a lot of voters don't pay a lot of attention to it, for good reason.

But the Federal Reserve really needs to be politically independent to be believed that it will be willing to do, what is kind of unpopular, painful things in order to get inflation under control.

The expression is you want the Fed to be willing to take the punch bowl away when the economy is getting too hot.

And if the Fed, and therefore, the money supply is being controlled by the president, by politicians, that credibility goes away. And you've seen that in a lot of other countries, Venezuela, Argentina, Zimbabwe, pre-Euro Italy, where the central bank is controlled by politicians, you have much worse inflation.

[14:35:03]

So all of those things put together are likely to be very bad for consumers.

And I'm not saying that Kamala Harris' agenda is necessarily going to have, like, much better outcomes that what we've experienced now. But I think we'll be find -- I'm much more worried about the potential damage that Donald Trump, if he executes his plans as promised, would wreck on this economy.

KEILAR: Really interesting.

Catherine Rampell, thank you so much.

And ahead, former President Trump still fears voter fraud in one state that could be key to his potential reelection. Officials responding.

This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:01]

SANCHEZ: While the candidates are making their final pitches to voters, this election is also playing out in court with a series of lawsuits over ballots and voting in key swing states. Both sides focused on battleground Pennsylvania.

KEILAR: And Democrats argue on key wing county is not doing enough to address a ballot delivery issue, while Trump and his allies have been ramping up allegations and litigation on voter fraud.

CNN chief legal affairs correspondent, Paula Reid, is with us now on this. And you've been tracking the legal arguments, a lot of them, around this election. What are you watching?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, if you're a lawyer, this action, it's something you're watching very closely, with the state and federal cases.

You mentioned a few of them so let's go through them.

First of all, a lawsuit filed by Democrats. Remember, Republican- affiliated groups have filed and been involved with over 130 challenges in the elections.

But here, Democrats are suing over deliver issues that can impact around 20,000 voters who may not receive their mail-in ballots. And they're asking the court to make sure that these folks actually get to vote.

But there have also been some allegation by the former president and others of fraud around voter registration in Pennsylvania. And it's important to get to the facts here.

Now, in Lancaster Counter, they have confirmed that they are investing incidents of suspected voter fraud, registration fraud, now by the law enforcement officials and a partisan election board.

They say this is part of a large-scale canvassing effort where they received some registrations that have somewhat handwriting and unverifiable addresses they're investigating. They haven't reported any fraud.

Now York County also doing an investigation that they will confirm is the same issue they're seeking in Lancaster.

But you see Trump and his allies getting out ahead of the investigation. The state's governor suggested that this is all part of an effort to sow seeds of doubt in the court of public opinion about the outcome in Pennsylvania.

But the biggest thing that I'm looking for right now is it possible decision from the Supreme Court out of Pennsylvania related to mail-in ballots.

Their election is complicated in Pennsylvania, with envelopes, and there's been a lot of litigation about that that happens if you send in your mail-in ballot without that secrecy envelope. They're called necked ballots if they don't have that.

And the RNC has sued to block people whose ballots are discounted because they didn't stuff them properly, form being able to file provisional ballots.

And this something that is now gone all the way up to the Supreme Court. It is one of the most significant cases that my Republican sources have been watching for month because of the potential impact it could have on the race in Pennsylvania. SANCHEZ: That's just one case that's been at the Supreme Court. Is that where this is all headed?

REID: You know what? I would be surprised. That's why you've seen so much litigation in and around the election already.

Because my sources on the Trump side, the legal team for the former president, say that one of the lessons they learned in 2020 is you have to start litigating these issues before the election.

One, they say, is to resolve the issues for voters ahead of Election Day. You are also sort of planting the seeds and building your network of lawyers and your expertise in case there is an issue that you think you can push all the way to the Supreme Court.

So that's why we've seen not lawsuits in battleground states but also suits in states like Missouri that have a suit that could get up to the Supreme Court.

So given how close this is, it would not supreme me if ultimately some of these questions go to the Supreme Court. Will that decide the election? It's unclear. But I think you can definitely expect continued litigation.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's a possible destination rife with drama.

Paula Reid, thank you so much for the reporting. Appreciate it.

[14:43:35]

So we're going to take a close look at the Senate race in Texas in just moments because this is one that could help Democrats keep control of the Senate if, if they can make history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:09]

KEILAR: Senator Ted Cruz in Texas is locked in a race that is much closer than anyone expected.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has the latest from the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The linebacker and the debater are spending the final days of the Texas Senate campaign unleashing a barrage of zingers.

COLIN ALLRED, U.S. DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE: If that everything is bigger in Texas, but Ted Cruz is too small for Texas.

(CHEERING)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I looked at Kamala Harris and Colin Allred partying with their celebrity friends, with Beyonce, with Willie Nelson. I got to say the whole thing seemed like a P. Diddy party.

LAVANDERA: Ted Cruz is buying for a third term as senator. But once again finds himself in a close race, at least by Texas standards. A recent "New York Times"-Siena College poll shows Cruz with a slim four-point edge against Colin Allred.

The Democrat's quest to break through in Texas has been as elusive as Charlie Brown's quest to kick that football.

CHARLIE BROWN: AAH.

LAVANDER: Republicans like Lucy has snatched victory away for 30 years.

Colin Allred wasn't a kicker, but he is a former NFL linebacker, turns civil rights attorney, who flipped the GOP House seat six years ago. His campaign has been squarely focused on attacking Cruz, especially for fleeing the state to Mexico during an epic ice storm.

ALLRED: When 30 million Texans were relying on him when the lights went out, he decided to go to Cancun.

(BOOING)

ALLRED: I'll tell you what, if you did and he ran for office again, you've got to lose your job.

LAVANDERA: Democrats have spent more than $108 million on ads in the race, mostly focused on abortion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ban that's gone way too far.

LAVANDERA: Allred organizes events highlighting stories of women impacted by the state's new abortion law, one of the most restrictive in the country.

ALLRED: You can't tell me you're pro-life when women are dying at a record rate. You are so small that you think you can tell Texas women what to do with their bodies, then you have got to lose your job.

[13:50:07]

CRUZ: This is a battle between sane and crazy.

LAVANDERA: Ted Cruz is on the final leg of a bus tour of Texas. In campaign speeches, he doesn't talk about abortion. He delivers a heavy dose of immigration and border security talk.

CRUZ: It is a full-on invasion.

LAVANDERA: While Republicans have spent about $68 million on advertising, much of that messaging is focused on transgender issues and sports.

ANNOUNCER: He voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. CRUZ: Look, we are living in a world where one of our two major political parties can no longer figure out what is a woman. That didn't use to be a trick question.

(CHEERING)

In Colin Allred's world, don't our daughters have any rights?

LAVANDERA: While the transgender issue is popular among Republicans, Colin Allred says Cruz is trying to avoid the broader issue of abortion.

ALLRED: Ted Cruz is desperate, desperate to not talk about what he's actually done to folks in this state. He's making up issues. Folks need to be -- understand that and hold him accountable in this election.

LAVANDERA (on camera): While other Texas Republicans like Governor Greg Abbott and Senator John Cornyn have comfortably won re-election, Ted Cruz won his last election by just over 200,000 votes.

And since then, according to the Texas Secretary of State's office, 2.8 million new people have been added to the voter rolls here in Texas. And it's not exactly clear how that might affect this senatorial race.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

on ads in the race, mostly focused on abortion ban.

KEILAR: Our thanks to Ed for that report.

And still ahead, a new report shows that Americans are having fewer sets of triplets, quadruplets and quintuplets than in recent years. We'll show you why, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:]

SANCHEZ: There's new reserve showing Americans are now having far fewer sets of triplets, quadruplets and quintuplets.

KEILAR: Yes, this a new CDC report that also find the biggest declines in multiple births are in moms 30 years old and over, which certainly tells you something.

CNN health reporter, Jacqueline Howard, is with us now on this.

Tell us why.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Yes, Boris and Brianna, this is really interesting. What we know is that this decline is associated with how, over time, we have stricter guidance around the use of embryo transfers and how many embryos should be transferred during fertility treatments like IVF. And that's why we're seeing play out here.

Because with the more the embryos are transferred, that raises the risk of having a pregnancy with multiples, twins, triplets, quadruplets. But if we limit the number of embryo transfers, which is what the guidance recommended, that reduces the risk of having a pregnancy with multiples.

And that's what we're seeing play out here in the date. Because if you look at the numbers, from 1998 to last year, the birth rate for triplets and high-order births declined 62 percent. I mean, that's a huge drop.

But most of that decline happened since the introduction of guidance in the early 2000s, Boris and Brianna.

And the reason why that was introduced was to reduce the risks of complications that we know are associated with having twins, triplets and quadruplets. That's what we're seeing play out here.

SANCHEZ: Fascinating research.

Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much for the update.

We're taking a look now at live pictures of Donald Trump rallying in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as he and Vice President Kamala Harris head west with an eye on the swing stats of Nevada and Arizona.

But some of Trump's comments this hour in New Mexico are raising eyebrows. We'll explain why in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

healthy U.S. economy, with inflation falling even more to its lowest level in years within the last month and more rate cuts are likely. This election is playing out in court with a series of lawsuits over ballots and voting in key swing states, and both sides are focused on battleground Pennsylvania. The Senate race in Texas is one that could help Democrats keep control of the Senate if they can make history, and Senator Ted Cruz in Texas is locked in a race that is much closer than anyone expected. A new report shows Americans are having fewer sets of triplets, quadruplets and quintuplets than in recent years, and a new CDC report finds the biggest declines in multiple births are in moms 30 years old and over.>